The Cyprus Parliament approved on Friday regulations that allow the government to extend the licenses of companies exploring hydrocarbons inside the island’s exclusive economic zone under certain conditions.
According to the law, licensed energy companies are granted an initial three years to complete their exploratory programme which can be renewed and extended twice by the government for a period of 2 years each time, totaling at a maximum of seven years.
The bill presented to the Parliament granted the cabinet discretionary powers to extend the overall period beyond seven years, so long as the concession holder files a substantiated request two months prior to expiry.
