The government of Cyprus will send its proposal to Israel soon, concerning the development of the “Aphrodite” natural gas reservoir, Government Spokesman Kyriacos Koushos said on Saturday.
 
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Alassa, a village in Limassol District, Koushos was asked about energy developments and pointed to the upcoming drillings in the next few months, as announced by the Energy Minister. “During the first semester [of 2020] we will have some results, which we will immediately announce” he said.
 
Concerning the issue over the “Aphrodite” gas reservoir, Koushos said that the Cypriot side discussed the matter with the Israeli delegation and Premier Netanyahu himself  “and during the next two to three weeks our side will send a proposal to the Energy Ministry of Israel and we deem that there is no problem whatsoever concerning the development of the ‘Aphrodite’ reserve.”
 
Last November, Cyprus and the Aphrodite consortium signed an exploitation license and a revised production sharing contract, aiming to start natural gas production in 2025.
 
According to Israeli reports last December, that were confirmed later by the Israeli Embassy in Cyprus, the position of the Israeli Energy Ministry is that Shell, Noble Energy and Delek Drilling cannot develop the Cypriot reservoir until a border dispute with Israel`s Yishai license is settled.

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades met bilaterally with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu last Thursday, in the Greek capital, Athens, before attending a signing ceremony, together with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, sealing an intergovernmental deal on the EastMed pipeline project. The agreement was signed by the Energy Ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel.