Energy talks with TOTAL still ongoing

French energy giant TOTAL’s plans in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) were the topic of discussion in a Paris meeting on Saturday between between President Nicos Anastasiades and CEO Patrick Pouyanne.

The President was in the French capital to attend the Pantheon burial of Simon Veil, Holocaust survivor and women’s rights icon who passed away a year ago at the age of 89.

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou, who attended the meeting along with Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, told the Cyprus News Agency that the company reaffirmed its interest in Cyprus’ EEZ as well as its commitment to uphold all previous agreements between the two sides.

Lakkotrypis wrote in a twitter post after the meeting that the company showed strong interest to expand its activities in the Cypriot EEZ.

French energy giant TOTAL applied to the Cyprus government to acquire a stake in block license 8 in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone currently owned by Italy’s ENI.

TOTAL along with ENI are partners in blocks 11 and 6.

An exploratory well carried out in early 2017 in Kalypso target revealed a “promising discovery” but no data have been disclosed yet concerning the Kalypso`s reservoir size.

The meeting took place two weeks after Anastasiades met with TOTAL's Senior Vice President for Middle East and North Africa, Stephane Michel, with the two men focusing on the prospects of expanding Nicosia's cooperation with the French energy giant.