Decisive developments for the energy future of Cyprus will be launched today and tomorrow in Nicosia.
In the wake of the quadripartite Conference of the Ministers of Energy of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Italy, held on Monday in Tel Aviv, on the establishment of the East Med gas pipeline from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, the government will sign of the contracts with the energy giants ENI, TOTAL and ExxonMobil for the concession of plots within the Cypriot EEZ for research purposes.
The signing of the contracts will take place at 9.00 in the morning at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
Today the contracts will be signed with the companies ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum for the block 10 and tomorrow with the companies ENI and TOTAL for the blocks 8 and 6.
Prior to the signing of the contracts, the President of the Republic will receive at the Presidential Delegations of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum.
The US Undersecretary of State for Energy Diplomacy, Robin Dunigan, is scheduled to be in Cyprus to attend the signing of contracts between the government and ExxonMobil on behalf of the US government.
Diplomatic sources link the presence of the US Deputy Secretary of State with the high interest of the US government in the ExxonMobil investigations in the Cyprus EEZ.
It is noted that the former President of the American company ExxonMobil is the current US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
The US Government has repeatedly reaffirmed the right of the Republic of Cyprus to its EEZ.
The presence of the official US government in the signing of the contracts is a vote of confidence and a response to those who question the exercise of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, said Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulidis.
Source: SigmaLive