Expectations muted in Cyprus

Cyprus had great hopes for its gas. But the global glut means it will for now remain an importer rather than an exporter

The 450-foot-high red-and-white-checked flue stack at Vassilikos power station, with wisps of grey smoke folded over by the sea breeze, is a major landmark on Cyprus's south coast. The facility marks the western limit of a large former industrial plot that has been cleared in preparation for a proposed liquefied natural gas plant. In the euphoria following the discovery of the Aphrodite field in 2011, before reserve estimates were reduced from 7 trillion cubic feet to 4.5 trillion, the assumption was that Cyprus would soon be bringing ashore its own natural gas to supply the Vassilikos power station and other consumers. Today, the focus is on setting up facilities at Vassilikos to regasify i