Monday 25 July 2016

The Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism announces that at 1 p.m. today, the deadline for the submission of applications for the 3rd Licensing Round for offshore exploration in Blocks 6, 8 and 10 in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus, has expired. A total of six applications have been received, by eight companies and for all three available Blocks.

The names of the interested companies/consortia will be announced next Wednesday, July 27th, after the President of the Republic and the members of the Council of Ministers are briefed officially during a scheduled meeting of the Council.

Under the provisions of the relevant legislation, the six applications submitted will be evaluated by the competent Advisory Committee, which will then draft its opinion in a preparatory report. On the basis of the report and the recommendation of the Minister of Energy, the Council of Ministers will appoint the team that will negotiate, with the companies selected, the final terms of the Exploration and Production Sharing Contracts.

The final decision for the granting of exploration licenses is at the discretion of the Council of Ministers.