Tender for the terminal, and leasing out Promitheas

Opinion gasLNG terminalmalaysia Tender for the terminal, and leasing out Promitheas Ploio Promitheas Relevant News Tender for the terminal, and leasing out Promitheas 11 August 2026 Time to stop the antenna installation at Akrotiri 11 August 2026 The hate-fest, and Erhurman’s fun club 11 August 2026 Chrysanthos Manoli 11 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Companies interested in bidding for the contract to finish the works at the Vasilikos terminal have until 26 August to put questions to ETYFA and seek clarity on the terms of the tender issued on 30 July. The original tender document set 9 September as the deadline for expressions of interest. But some bidders have flagged that this doesn’t leave enough time to put together a proper proposal, and ETYFA looks willing to grant an extension, provided it’s formally requested during the questions-and-clarifications stage. As we’ve reported before, this is a closed tender (a Restricted Procedure) with a prequalification stage built in. In practice, that means interested contractors first submit an application to take part, and only those who make it through prequalification get invited to submit a full technical and financial bid. The estimated value of the remaining works at Vasilikos comes to €180 million, with construction expected to take two years. Running this new process to pick a contractor to finish the gas processing terminal isn’t the only headache facing DEFA and ETYFA. The Promitheas problem hasn’t gone away either. Cyprus’s floating LNG storage and regasification unit remains stuck at a Malaysian port, doing nothing, while it waits either for another country or energy company to put it to use, or for the green light to sail to Cyprus and dock at Vasilikos, something that won’t happen for another two to three years, if not longer, once the terminal works are finished. Before Promitheas can start work as an FSRU, it needs to go through a certification process, put through real-world testing on actual LNG regasification. Tally up every remaining stage of the ETYFA tender (expression of interest, prequalification, binding proposals, evaluation, award, and so on), add the roughly two years of construction still needed once the contract is awarded, and the risk becomes obvious. Promitheas could sit idle and unused for at least another three years. Throughout that time, it still needs a team of technicians from the Norwegian firm Wilhelmsen on hand for essential maintenance, an expense on top of whatever it costs to keep the ship berthed in Malaysia. Given all that, officials at DEFA and ETYFA, and more broadly within government, are said to be wrestling with what to do with Promitheas until the terminal is finished. Some companies have already shown interest in leasing it, with a view to getting it certified and putting it to work as an FSRU somewhere else in the meantime, until it can start operating at Vasilikos. Lease proposals, we’re told, are currently under discussion. What’s giving those assessing the bids pause is that prospective tenants want to lock in Cyprus’s FSRU for several years. Ideally, for Cyprus’s own interests, Promitheas would be doing exactly what it was bought for, regasifying LNG, and bringing in some revenue for the Republic, rather than sitting idle at a Malaysian dock (buying and converting it into an FSRU cost ETYFA close to €220 million). The last thing DEFA, ETYFA or the energy ministry want is to see the ship leased out for longer than it actually takes to finish the Vasilikos works. Unconfirmed reports, not verified by any government source, suggest one of the companies most keen to lease the Promitheas FSRU, for something close to €50 million a year, is ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), the UAE’s state energy firm. But other credible parties are said to be circling too, according to some sources. As we wrote in this column last week, ADNOC, in partnership with BP, has been chasing, and is still chasing, Shell’s 35% stake in the Aphrodite gas field. For now, Shell has opted to hand that stake to Hungary’s MOL instead, though some reports suggest that outcome isn’t sitting well with the Cypriot government. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Time to stop the antenna installation at Akrotiri The hate-fest, and Erhurman’s fun club Overnight pharmacies on Tuesday, August 11 Larnaca hotel occupancy falls 15% amid Middle East war Cyprus makes AI Olympiad debut with four bronze medals The punk and the bruiser: Invasive species thrive as global warming transforms the Mediterranean Forest patrols prevent disaster at Akamas beach barbecue, Koutrafas fire Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.