The Greek Cyprus Administration agreed to enter talks with ENI, Total, ExxonMobil and Qatar for offshore hydrocarbons exploration, according to the statement released by the Press and Information Office on Wednesday.
The Greek Cypriot administration announced a tender for new hydrocarbon exploration offshore the long-divided Mediterranean Island on March 24 and the call for bids that concluded on June 22 was to award licenses for blocks 6, 8 and 10.
Six companies who declared their interests for the third licensing round included ENI, Total, Statoil, Exxon Mobil, Qatar Petroleum and Cairn.
The council of Ministers announced their decision on selected applicants for negotiations on Wednesday.
Eni Cyprus Limited and Total E&P Cyprus B.V. will be negotiating for block 6, Eni Cyprus Limited will be negotiating separately for block 8 and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited and Qatar Petroleum International Upstream O.P.C. will be negotiating for block 10.
'In case negotiations are successful, and provided that the agreed contract per individual block is approved by the Council of Ministers, hydrocarbon exploration licenses will be granted. Otherwise, the runner-up applicants will be invited for negotiations,' the statement read.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
ebrusengul@aa.com.tr