Addressing the international meeting of ‘Ship and Offshore Innovations 2014’ that took place in Limassol, Communications and Works Minister Marios Demetriades said that the geopolitics in the region change rapidly and Cyprus is again at the forefront of developments.

He said that the discovery of natural gas in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone and later in Cyprus has made the Eastern Mediterranean the focus of discussions in the oil industry, with new political and economic balances emerging.

Discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean create the prospects to find more hydrocarbon reserves, said the Minister, adding that there is new potential for the economy and the country, which aspires to become an important energy centre in the Mediterranean.

Many offshore companies already in Cyprus, he said, are seriously considering taking advantage of the prospects arising and some have taken steps towards this, widening their range of services.

Demetriades said he hoped more shipping companies will bring their activities to the island to explore the advantages offered by the aspiring East Mediterranean market.

Source: Famagusta Gazette