A process is underway to secure interim employment for a newly delivered floating storage and regasification unit which was Cyprus’ hugely delayed Vasilikos terminal project.
Cyprus Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said on Tuesday state-controlled The Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) is “preparing bids for the next destination of the FSRU”, the Cyprus Times reported.
Papanastasiou said the vessel, the 137,000-cbm FSRU Etyfa Prometheas (ex-Galea, built 2002), will remain at its current location off the west Malaysian coast for the next two to three months while it waits for the installation of two key components with long delivery times needed for essential modifications.
The Minister told local journalists that the FSRU is undergoing inspections to confirm its readiness for use and once these are completed it will head to a terminal for certification to test its regasification abilities.
He said the selection of the next destination for the unit will follow from ETYFA’s ongoing bidding process.
The Etyfa Prometheas finally left Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group)’s yard in Shanghai on 14 December en route to Singapore.
At the time Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said Cyprus was “close to an agreement” with another country that would use the FSRU until the Vasilikos project infrastructure is ready.
The President has indicated that Cyprus’ FSRU terminal will be completed at end of 2025. It was originally due to be in operation by 2019.
Cyprus’ Natural Gas Infrastructure Co, which is 70% controlled by the nation’s Natural Gas Public Co and 30% by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, was to own the FSRU, jetty and shoreside infrastructure for the project.
Last year the European Public Prosecutor’s Office — the independent office of the European Union — opened an investigation into the Vasilikos terminal project on suspicion of “procurement fraud, misappropriation of EU funds and corruption”.
About €101m ($106m) of EU funds from its Connecting Europe Facility programme went to the project, with the EU supplying a further €230m in loans.
Papanastasiou said this week that consultations with the Commission were ongoing, with results expected very soon.
