NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Cyprus government has given Chevron another six months to come up with a revised plan to develop a sizeable natural gas deposit off the island nation’s southern coastline after an earlier plan proposed by the U.S. energy company lacked a timetable, an official said Thursday.
Chevron’s development proposal from March 29 for the Aphrodite deposit estimated to hold 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas “wasn’t considered targeted and was without specific timetables,” the official with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the deal.
In a reply letter last Thursday, Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou asked Chevron for “specific, targeted actions” and a “specific timetable” that would confirm its commitment to developing the gas field.
In January this year, the Cypriot government and Chevron reached a “mutually beneficial” agreement on how to develop the gas field, ending long stalled negotiations on plans to extract the hydrocarbon since its discovery in 2011.