By Elias Hazou

Construction on Halliburton’s two factories in Aradippou had begun without any town planning or building permits, whereas an environmental impact assessment was carried out only once the facilities were already completed, sources told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

The completed facilities include a factory for the assembly of equipment such as pipelines as well as extensive warehouses.

Moreover, although Halliburton’s activities fall within heavy industrial activity, at least one of the two facilities was built in a zone assigned for light industry. The US corporation apparently bypassed this by having been granted a special derogation from the Cabinet, said the same sources, who preferred not to be named.

In addition, Halliburton itself did not perform an environmental impact assessment (EIA) prior to construction.

This was possible because at the time the law was apparently unclear as to whether an EIA for hydrocarbons-related activities should be carried out a priori.

An EIA, commissioned by Aradippou municipality, was subsequently carried out jointly by the Cyprus University of Technology and the University of Cyprus.

Sorting out this lack of clarity in the law, sources said, was the gist of a bill prepared by Greens MP George Perdikis. The bill mandated the prior carrying out of an EIA by the company or companies involved.

The bill was passed by the House plenum last Thursday. But just two days earlier Aradippou’s municipal council had granted Halliburton the relevant building permits, meaning the new law did not apply to the company’s facilities.

The issue caused a storm at the House, with opposition parties accusing the municipality of okaying the permits on the sly, knowing full well that a vote on Perdikis’ legislative proposal was pending.

The criticism was also directed at ruling DISY, which has a majority on the Aradippou municipal council. DISY countered that changing the rules halfway might have scuppered the Halliburton investment.

The Department of the Environment had already compiled a draft bill with extra regulations relating to hydrocarbons-related activities, and lawmakers were expecting the government’s item to be submitted. The government got an extension on the understanding that meantime no action would be taken by Aradippou municipality.

The Greens’ Perdikis meanwhile had taken the department’s draft bill, adapted it and formulated his own legislative proposal, which was fast-tracked to the House.

One of the world’s largest oilfield services companies, Halliburton has chosen Cyprus as its base of operations for the east Mediterranean. The company provides drilling services and gear for companies prospecting for hydrocarbons.





