Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on Monday sounded cautiously optimistic on the prospects of the least-worst scenario materialising in relation to the stalled LNG project at Vasiliko.
Speaking to news outlet Stockwatch, the minister cited “information” according to which the government’s new consultants would report back that the LNG terminal may proceed without needing to redesign the project from scratch.
“We have information that the consultant, Technip Energies, will conclude that the omissions and gaps in the technical design done by the Chinese consortium CPP regarding the pier and the land-based infrastructures are not too serious and as such the completion of the project can proceed.”
Earlier, the government had assigned its consultants Technip to carry out a ‘gap analysis’ on the LNG project – essentially a report describing what works are pending and their cost.
Stockwatch said the report would likely be handed over to the government by mid-December.
In the worst-case scenario, Technip would recommend starting over.
Papanastasiou said that if it turns out that the deviations are manageable, “then we have the way to move forward with completing the project, as the tender documents are ready”.
He was alluding to the new tenders prepared by the government concerning works at the LNG terminal that are half-complete.
The government has to parcel out new contracts for works pending.
If all goes smoothly under this least-worst scenario, said the minister, then the LNG project as a whole could be finished within 15 months.
“From the moment we push the button, the project will be ready in 15 months, assuming that the Prometheas ship is already certified and can operate as a floating storage and regasification unit.”
Regarding the Prometheas vessel, Papanastasiou said the conversions are “at the final stage so that it can operate as an Fsru, and so by the end of the month Etyfa will decide where the ship will anchor.”
Etyfa is the state-run natural gas infrastructure company – the owner of the LNG project.
“Either the ship will remain anchored in Malaysia – where the anchorage fees are inexpensive – until the infrastructures at Vasilikos are completed, or it will come to Cyprus where anchorage fees are zero.”
But if the project as a whole has to be redesigned from square one, this would involve a much longer timeframe. In this case, Papanastasiou noted, the Prometheas would have to dock at another harbour where it can be hooked up to infrastructures converting the gas into its liquid form.
Such port facilities are available in Greece, Italy and Egypt.
In July 2024 the Chinese-led CMC consortium tore up LNG contract with Cyprus, citing irreconcilable differences. That left Cypriot authorities scrambling to find new subcontractors to finish incomplete works at the onshore facilities and the jetty.
Meanwhile in September this year it emerged that Brussels had demanded that Cyprus refund grants worth €67.2 million in connection with the LNG terminal at Vasiliko.
This has to do to with a number of irregularities flagged by the European Commission relating to the circumstances in which the contract for the LNG project was awarded to a Chinese-led consortium in December 2019.
