Cyprus and Abu Dhabi’s TAQA to Collaborate on Electricity Connection Project
Cyprus’s Energy Minister, George Papanastasiou, announced on Thursday that Abu Dhabi’s TAQA has shown interest in investing in and supporting the delivery of a significant electricity connection project in Cyprus. The project in question is the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) cable, which aims to link the transmission networks of Europe to Cyprus, with a total project cost estimated at 1.9 billion euros ($2.12 billion). Additionally, there are plans for the cable to later extend to Israel.
During his presentation at the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi, Papanastasiou revealed that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has also expressed interest in Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and is actively seeking assets that are deemed “ready to go.” This expression of interest has sparked discussions about the potential for a new licensing round with ADNOC for exploration purposes, suggesting a promising collaboration on the horizon.
This isn’t the first time ADNOC has shown interest in Cyprus’s energy sector. The minister confirmed to Reuters in November that ADNOC had previously expressed interest in the country’s emerging natural gas sector, indicating a growing partnership between the two entities.
With both parties showing enthusiasm for collaboration and investment in Cyprus’s energy projects, the future looks promising for the country’s energy sector. The potential partnership between Cyprus and Abu Dhabi’s TAQA and ADNOC could lead to significant advancements in the region’s energy infrastructure and contribute to the growth and development of the sector.
(Reuters – Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan; Writing by Tala RamadanEditing by Tomasz Janowski)