Cyprus Mail reports that “President will not be put off drilling for gas“:
“We have decided that Noble Energy will proceed in the forthcoming period with the exploratory drilling to find out the quantity and the quality of hydrocarbons,” he said.
The president added that drilling would provide clear evidence of whether potential deposits exist, something for which geological surveys have shown “the probability is very high”.
Christofias highlighted it was Cyprus’ sovereign right, based on international law and the Law of the Sea, to start gas exploration in its EEZ, underlining that “all our decisions and actions so far, stem from international law and strictly fall into this parameter”.
Given how the President handled the Mari naval base explosion, I wouldn’t trust the guy with the keys to my car, let alone drilling for gas. I mean, I am for Cyprus benefiting from these resources and all. But a project like that is legally, technically, financially, and politically huge. Someone has to organize and manage that. And current President haven’t shown any particular talent in managing anything yet. Even of a much smaller and simpler scale. The potential for disaster is huge here, and I don’t think Cyprus needs another one of those. Not now, not ever.