Greek Cyprus head to visit offshore gas rig

NICOSIA - The Associated Press

Authorities say the Greek Cyprus president will pay an official visit to a rig which is carrying out exploratory drilling for gas deposits off the island’s coast. A government statement released yesterday said President Dimitris Christofias will travel Monday to U.S. firm Noble Energy’s rig, where he will be joined by four other senior government officials. Noble estimated last week that the field may yield between 3 to 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Commerce Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou said in an interview with Kathimerini newspaper yesterday that just one trillion cubic feet of gas could meet the island’s energy needs for 20 years. Israeli energy firm Delek has proposed a gas processing and export partnership with Greek Cyprus