Cyprus Interested In Russian Companies Partaking In Gas Drilling Tenders - Minister

Cyprus would welcome the participation of Russian companies in tenders for gas drilling in the country's exclusive economic zone, Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told Sputnik on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2019) Cyprus would welcome the participation of Russian companies in tenders for gas drilling in the country's exclusive economic zone, Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Our licensing fees ... we have had so far, are open. We have international competitive tenders. And we would welcome any participation of the Russian companies in such international competitive tenders in the future," Georgiades said.

The minister added that it was cooperating with a number of international partners within its exploring program.

"We operate within a framework of international law and regional cooperation. We have excellent relations with all our regional neighbors, including Egypt, including Israel, including Lebanon, including Greece, of course," Georgiades said.

The minister also regretted that Turkey had refused to participate in this format of regional cooperation.

Offshore gas reserves off Cyprus' coast were discovered by US company Noble Energy in 2011. Cyprus later granted oil and gas exploration licenses to France's Total, Italy's Eni and US oil giant ExxonMobil.

Ankara has been opposing the offshore oil and gas exploration being done by various enterprises off Cyprus' coast, claiming that the activity violates the rights of the Turkish community living on the island. Last week, Ankara announced that Turkish drilling vessels would begin oil and gas exploration in waters around Cyprus in the near future.

The island of Cyprus is split between two communities: the Greeks and Turkish Cypriots. In 1974, Turkish forces occupied the northern part of the island, subsequently proclaiming it the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).