Cyprus's Public Natural Gas Enterprise (DEFA) has received 17 bids for the supply of natural gas until 2018, when natural gas reserves discovered in offshore fields are expected to be fully developed, it said in a statement on Monday.

The bidding period for the supply of the gas ended at noon on Monday.

DEFA said it could not disclose more details about the bidders and the process, because it was bound by an agreement of confidentiality with potential suppliers.

Cyprus estimates to import about 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas a year for use by power stations.

DEFA said it would proceed with the import of natural gas to replace fuel oil now used by power stations if the price asked for the gas would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of generating electricity.

In announcing the opening of bids a month ago, DEFA said it planned to come to a decision by the end of this year.

An exploratory drilling by American company Noble Energy in a block about 65 km off the Cyprus south coast has tapped and estimated 7 trillion cubit feet of natural gas. A second drilling to confirm the exact amount held by the gas bed is planned within the next six months, but bringing the gas online would take until 2018.

Noble Energy will sponsor Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference to be held in Cyprus on March 26-28, 2013 to discuss the energy potential of the area.

Once piped ashore, the gas discovery would meet the needs of Cyprus for the next 200 to 300 years.

An official said recently that estimates put the total gas reserves in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone to about 60 trillion cubic feet, with oil possibly lying deeper under the gas beds.

Plans are being explored between Cyprus and Israel to build a pipe to the island's south shore where a liquefaction plant is to be built at an estimated cost of 10 billion euros (12.9 billion U.S. dollars) to handle both Cypriot and Israeli gas. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)