Cyprus has received expressions of interest from one US oil company and a consortium of three firms for offshore hydrocarbon exploration south of the island.
Nicosia, Aug 18 : Cyprus has received expressions of interest from one US oil company and a consortium of three firms for offshore hydrocarbon exploration south of the island.
Cyprus has offered 11 offshore blocks for exploration and development. A US company made a bid for one block and a consortium made up of three firms from Norway, Britain and the United Arab Emirates for another two blocks.
The government did not disclose the names of the bidders because of a confidentiality clause in the tenders.
Newspaper sources identified the US venture as Noble Energy, a firm based in Houston, Texas. Noble Energy is an independent energy company engaged in the development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas, which operates in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, the North Sea and Israel.
Solon Kasinis, the Head of the Energy Department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has described the interest shown in Cyprus' offshore blocks as satisfactory.
Efstathios Hamboullas, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the bids related to 11 of the 13 blocks established in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone.
The remaining two blocks would be opened up for the second round of bidding, once 3D data on the seabed were available, he added.
ANI