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The government is determined to proceed with the project of liquefied natural gas arriving in Cyprus for power generation, despite the termination of the contract with the Chinese consortium and the investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou said on Tuesday that the Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) will soon launch a public tender for the implementation of the onshore part of the terminal and the quayside.
In a statement issued after the extraordinary closed session of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Mr. Papanastasiou, amid criticism of the scandal and the worst contract signed by the Republic, said that legal procedures are underway so that the FSRU Prometheus, owned by ETYFA, also returns to its ownership. It was mentioned at the meeting that another option is being considered, which is to lease another floating unit after the completion of the land terminal.
The Minister of Energy said in the statement: “The direction is that the project should be completed (because) it is very important for the introduction of natural gas and the reduction of the cost of conventional electricity”, but stressed that the choice is more limited due to the absence of a contract. He also pointed out that ETYFA, as the owner of the project, is analyzing the next steps with the assistance of the ministry.
Regarding the tender for the onshore component and the terminal, the Minister of Energy said the project had to be completed in a certain way, adding that ETYFA chose to go for a tender for transparency purposes.
“It is currently underway and will be put up for public bidding soon so that those who are interested can make their offers,” he added.
Asked about the progress around the floating dehydrator, Mr Papanastasiou said consultations were still ongoing in a legal manner, but also within the legal process, “because the vessel is owned by ETYFA and it is not owned by ETYFA if the vessel is owned so that it can use it to import gas to the terminal”.
Meanwhile, Mr. Papanastasiou explained that the meeting was held behind closed doors on behalf of the Ministry, saying that “the other party is following very carefully what is happening in Cypriot society because we want to avoid the possibility of information being used through statements”.
Without providing further details, Mr Papanastasiou also said that “something happened yesterday at the arbitration court”, adding that “essentially, this kind of information cannot continue to be provided through the media, whether it is the position of officials or others”.
“The consortium’s legal counsel is very creative and every word of the officials’ statements will be used and used in any creative way possible,” he said, noting that the state wants to protect ETYFA in the process.
Stefanou: Things are getting more difficult
Speaking after the meeting, AKEL Secretary General Stefanos Stefanou said that while the “scandal” was being discussed, new aspects and repercussions were emerging “which make the issue of natural gas for electricity generation in Cyprus even more difficult”.
He pointed out that the government has two tasks: one is to complete the investment as soon as possible, “and the other is to push for the truth of the matter to be revealed.”
“The scandal surrounding the bad contracts signed by the previous Anastasiades-Sinalmou government is really very serious, which is added to the chain of scandals of the previous government,” he said, adding that these scandals “are paid for by the tax-paying citizens, the taxpaying citizens today, who pay the second most expensive electricity bills in Europe”.
Mr. Stefanou said that AKEL’s demand will continue to be that the truth comes out, that we close the investigation into this scandal and that society finally sees the protagonist of a great scandal go to court. It is gratifying that the investigation is led by the Office of the European Public Prosecutor”.
He continued: “I say this is gratifying because so far we have not seen the Cypriot authorities and institutions take actions in scandalous cases that would ultimately drive the knife into the bone.”
The Secretary General of AKEL requested that the investigation process be completed, while the project and all procedures be finalized to allow the gas to be delivered to Cyprus.
He concluded by saying that AKEL had asked those who took the lead in awarding the contract to come before Parliament to answer “many outstanding questions”, adding that there was a process before the Parliamentary Audit Committee.
Papadopoulos: Worst deal ever signed by the Republic
DIKO Nikolas Papadopoulos described the contract for the Vasiliko LNG import terminal as the worst deal ever signed by the Republic of Cyprus and spoke of the huge political responsibility that this fiasco leaves the Republic of Cyprus “completely exposed”.
Mr Papadopoulos said: “Based on what we have heard so far and what has been revealed, we can say with certainty that this is certainly the worst deal that the Republic of Cyprus has ever entered into.”
As he puts it, Cypriot taxpayers have paid €245 million for the contract so far, of which 75% of the project is for onshore infrastructure, “and we have no terminal and no floating gas dehydration unit”.
“For the simple reason that this contract had been handed to a company that was clearly incapable of executing that contract, had no experience, no qualifications, no capacity to execute that contract. This case was a fiasco from start to finish,” he added.
“The Republic of Cyprus is completely exposed because, in addition to the costs and damages we have incurred so far for not fulfilling the contracts, according to the worst-case scenario before us, there is a risk that in two years we will be without gas for electricity generation, whatever is needed,” said the president of DIKO.
“So the political responsibility for the mistakes that led to this scandal and this fiasco is enormous,” he said, adding: “The criminal responsibility is currently being examined by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, but the political responsibility is clear and I think every citizen of the Republic of Cyprus understands it”.
Asked whether the Republic of Cyprus was considering continuing to lease a floating gas dehydration unit, Mr Papadopoulos stated that during the meeting we discussed the alternatives that were before us and one alternative was to continue with the completion of the terminal and lease another floating unit.
Hatzigianni: Let’s think outside the box
Furthermore, the President of the Commission, DISY member Kyriakos Hatzigianni, called on the country, despite being “attacked” with excessive claims in the arbitration court, to negotiate with the consortium if, as he said, there is an open solution to the problem, but at the same time to “initiate without delay all alternative procedures so that the gas arrives in Cyprus as soon as possible”.
“We should think outside the box, away from past contractual commitments and so on, how to have the ability to have gas supply in parts of the country as soon as possible in every possible way,” he said.
Finally, he welcomed the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into the matter, saying that “the discussion of investigations, scandals, complaints no longer belongs to us, and we can neither judge nor prejudge things.”
Finally, DIPA MP Michalis Giakumis welcomed the report of Giorgos Papanastasiou, saying that progress will be made on the issue of natural gas, adding that electricity costs must eventually be reduced for consumers.
“We want the project to go ahead, but unfortunately the investigation must be done quickly and with full transparency, and responsibility must be assigned where and where it lies,” he concluded.
Source: KYPE
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