In the next three months Israel will know when the country will start the production of natural gas, said Wednesday, new Ambassador of Israel to Nicosia Michael Harrari.
Israeli Ambassador was speaking to journalists after a meeting he had with Deputy Director and Chief Editor of Cyprus News Agency George Penintaex at the offices of CNA.
''I suppose we are going in the coming few weeks or months to finalize what kind of bargain, the government and the private sector companies will achieve'' he said.
''In the next two or three months we will know much better when it will take place. It will take years. How many years, three or ten will be more clear in the coming few weeks'', he added.
Harrari said that natural gas is a very popular topic in Cyprus and in Israel right now.
In Israel these days, he noted, there is a very interesting public debate about what kind of prospects the government and the public sector companies should have from future drilling possibilities.
''It is very important to keep a realistic and balanced support towards this issue. It seems that the potential for Israel and for Cyprus is quite promising'', he stressed.
Harrari mentioned that it will take a lot of time and money to invest “before we are going to see real potential coming through”.
Referring to the agreement signed a few weeks ago between Israel and Cyprus he stressed its importance for both countries.
''In the next few months, we are going to have more consultations and talks between our two countries'' he said, adding that this is for the benefit of our bilateral relations.
Asked if there is interest from Israeli companies for the extraction of natural gas in Cyprus, Harrari said that ''you can imagine the interest from many Israeli energy companies''.
''We have to keep in mind that this kind of contracts or interests take time to explore as to what possibilities there are, what kind of investment is needed etc.'', he said.
Asked if Israel has signed an agreement with Egypt for the supply of natural gas for the next twenty years, Harrari said that the agreement is ongoing since 1979.
''We have an agreement with Egypt for many years now on oil and gas, it is an ongoing agreement and not a new one'', he concluded.
