Cypriot deal with Lebanon
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus said Foreign Minister Giorgos Lillikas would travel to Lebanon within days to sign an agreement with Beirut on exclusive economic zones. The island is in the process of reaching agreement with its neighbors on the determination of exclusive economic zones before explorations can begin for possible deposits of oil and natural gas off the coast. Studies have estimated that oil and natural gas reserves in the seas surrounding Cyprus amount to 6 to 8 billion barrels, currently worth around $400 billion. «Our first activities within the framework of research and oil extraction will be confined to the economic zone between Cyprus and Egypt,» Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Michaelides told reporters in Nicosia.
