US happy to be active in Cyprus gas exploration despite Turkish threats
Washington supports the right of Cyprus to exploit its natural wealth, and views energy development in the Eastern Mediterranean as a matter of priority, a senior US diplomat said on Friday.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon made the comments as ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum began drilling in block 10 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
“We view energy as a catalyst for cooperation economic development and to benefit all the people in the region and Cyprus has a meaningful role to that end,” Fannon told reporters after meeting Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis.
He added: “We are very excited about the developments ongoing in the region and the great promise…certainly happy to see US company involvement and continued opportunities.”
Fannon said Washington had a “long-standing position of recognizing Cyprus’ right to develop resource wealth in its EEZ.”
“We also continue our long-standing position that we believe that resource wealth should be shared with all communities on the island equitably in the context of a comprehensive settlement,” the US Official said.
Fannon added: “We will continue to advance Eastern Mediterranean energy as a priority.”
Lakkotrypis said he discussed Cyprus-US energy cooperation, East Med hydrocarbons potential and the strategic significance of US companies active in the Cypriot EEZ. “We agreed to continue discussions concerning the developments and a closer collaboration with the US and the countries of the region on a common development of energy resources
Mediterranean,” he said.
An announcement by the energy ministry on Friday confirmed that the consortium of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum commenced drilling operations at the site of the “Delphyne-1” well. “Drilling operations, conducted by the ‘Stena Icemax’ drillship at a waterbed depth of 1,973 metres, will be monitored on a continuous basis by the Ministry of Energy who will be analysing the collected data,” the announcement said.
Fannon is on a regional tour – that includes Israel and Egypt - to meet officials and private sector representatives to discuss energy security and regional cooperation on energy issues. goal, the of the efficient Eastern