The Cypriot government says it does not share views on East Med gas made by Eni boss Claudio Descalzi, who told Italian lawmakers an Eastern Mediterranean gas project cannot go forward without Turkey, with Nicosia begging to differ and pointing to other firms willing to take the risk.
Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on Saturday said there were many companies that could move forward with an East Med gas solution without Turkish consent.
Papanastasiou responded to comments by Descalzi days earlier, when the CEO of the Italian state-controlled company told lawmakers in Rome that he doubted Cyprus, Greece and Israel would ever agree on a natural gas pipeline to Europe without Turkey’s participation.
Originally the issue was an undersea pipeline that would transfer natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean through Greece to Europe bypassing Turkey, but Nicosia recently revised the language on the ambitious project.
Papanastasiou has clarified a proposed subsea pipeline would connect gas pools between Cyprus and Israel, with the island vying to be a hub where LNG would be transported by ships to Europe.
