SUCCESS IN CYPRUS

PHI’S UNIQUE POSITION IN CYPRUS

INTERESTING FACTS

• Water wells discovered by archaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old.

• Legend has it that the Greek goddess of love—Aphrodite—was born in Cyprus.

• The Capital city of Cyprus—Nicosia—is the only capital in the world that is divided between two nations: the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

• Mount Olympus is the highest point on the island and is also a ski resort.

• It is one of only four countries in the EU that drives on the left-hand side of the road.

Following a small campaign in 2011-2012, PHI officially began operations in Cyprus in September 2014. HomeBase spoke to Kyriacos (Kerry) Petsas, Director/Accountable Manager for PHI in Cyprus about the history of the country, PHI’s commitment to the region and the exciting upcoming contract with ExxonMobil.

Introducing the PHI Cyprus team:

KYRIACOS ‘KERRY’ PETSAS

Kerry is the Director/Accountable Manager for PHI’s Cyprus operations. Kerry was a line pilot when PHI started out in Cyrpus, and initially, operations were run via PHI’s US office. Throughout 2016 and 2017, Kerry took up a more active role as base & country manager, and since 2017, Kerry has been PHI’s main contact in Cyprus. Kerry oversees the day-to-day operations of the base.

GEORGE VASILIOU

George is Head of Maintenance and has previously worked for different organisations across the island, including as head of maintenance (fixed wing) for a local carrier. In 2019, George joined PHI, switching to rotary operations and, since then, has been doing an excellent job supporting our operations.

SPYROS THEODOSIOU

Spyros is the base Compliance Quality Manager, taking care of all compliance with the EASA regulations and new amendments regarding the regulations we must follow. He is also in charge of both flight operations and airworthiness (compliance with regulator). Spyros has a similar background to George and began with PHI at the same time in 2019.

ANDREAS ELEFTHEROU

Andreas is our Safety Manager in Cyprus. He is also deputy Flight Operations Manager. Andreas has approximately 25 years’ experience as a helicopter pilot and captain. Working across Search and Rescue, VIP transfer and offshore oil and gas, it’s safe to say he’s very experienced.

NATALIE AYIOTIS

Since 2018, Natalie has worked as the Administration Officer for PHI’s Cyprus base. She can easily be described as the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the operations. Natalie also recently took up the role of parts store officer, and works closely with Pierre Lavoie’s team from Nelson for parts and tools in Cyprus to ensure the correct ongoing support is provided.

CHRIS LARSSON

Chris is a Flight Operations Manager and Crew Training Manager and has been working part time with the team for the past year, joining the Cyprus team on a more permanent basis from the beginning of September. Chris is very experienced having spent more than 30 years in the industry as a Chief Pilot and Head of Training in various organisations.

ANDY DEVLIN

Andy is the Senior Base Engineer in Cyprus and has worked for PHI since 2019— between Ghana and Cyprus. Andy has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, starting out in the British Army, then moving to civilian services with the UK Police, Bristow Helicopters, Bond Offshore Helicopters, Weststar Aviation and Leonardo Helicopters.

HISTORY OF CYPRUS

For those who don’t know the country well, Cyprus has seen considerable disruption for centuries. The Roman Empire, the Ottoman rule of Cyprus, and then the British Empire. The island was eventually annexed, and war declared between the Ottoman and British in 1914. In 1960, the Independent Republic of Cyprus was formed, however in 1974, Greek nationalists formed a military coup and Turkey invaded, which led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots.

The de facto state of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed in 1975, now ‘the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ — recognised only by Turkey. To the international community, Northern Cyprus is considered part of the Republic of Cyprus.

In 2002, negotiations began to unify the north and south; however, this never came to fruition. In 2004, the Independent Republic of Cyprus became a member of European Union, but the two parts of the island remain divided.

Cyprus is a beautiful country with Mediterranean beaches, hilly fields covered with vineyards and forest-covered mountains. Our PHI team has a headquarters in Nicosia and base in Larnaca International Airport on the island.

PHI’S UNIQUE POSITION IN CYPRUS

PHI has the only local base in Cyprus with local employees. PHI is also the only operator with a secure and enclosed hangar, based out of Larnaca International Airport. Kerry is excited for the team as the new ExxonMobil win is their first offshore contract. After what has been a trying time for the team over the last 18 months, they are now looking forward to supporting one of the largest offshore oil & gas operations that the region has seen.

OFFSHORE EXPLORATION IN CYPRUS

In 2010, seismic surveys were conducted off the coast of Cyprus and in 2011, PHI supported the first exploration campaign for Noble. Licences were then released for different exploration blocks. ExxonMobil won what is known as “Block 10” to explore for oil & gas. Based on preliminary data, Block 10 is the biggest discovery in Cyprus to date. There are now only two operational blocks: 10 and 12.

NEW CONTRACT WIN

In 2020, PHI undertook discussions with ExxonMobil regarding the potential to work together again, and in quarter four of 2020, PHI was awarded the contract. It was a long and difficult process for our team, but they remained transparent and committed. ExxonMobil believed in the team and had experience working with PHI in the Gulf of Mexico. PHI International’s General Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Jamie Mitchell, has been pleased to take the Cyprus team under his wing and is looking forward to watching the team support the contract.

“After what I know has been a difficult couple of years for the team in Cyprus due to Covid-19, it is great to see them all in good spirits and ready to get stuck into this important piece of work for the region. I know that all their colleagues across all of PHI Aviation would be proud of their achievement,” says Jamie.

Kerry says the relationship between Exxon and PHI has been excellent, with consistent communication to ensure both sides can plan for the upcoming campaign as best as possible.

“What’s really unique for our team is to have one of the aircraft (AW139) from our New Plymouth/Taranaki base in New Zealand shipped over to the base in Cyprus for us to use for this contract,” says Kerry. There is plenty of work to do in the lead up, and things are set to kick off later in the year. PHI will be using two AW139’s for passenger support, cargo and delivery of Medivac support 24/7.

The AW139 that was sent from New Zealand being unloaded by the team.

Thumbs up from the team on the arrival of the ‘Manu Atua’.

[From left to right] Kerry Petsas, George Vasiliou, Spyros Theodosiou, Chris Larsson and Andreas Eleftherou

Flying above Cyprus – PHI Air Europe aircraft

PHI Air Europe aircraft – taken by local photographer Alexis Saveriades

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES

Kerry and the Cyprus team are keen to keep the good work coming their way. The team will ready themselves for an expected tender from ENI/Total later this year (initially awarded to PHI in Q4 2020 but cancelled due to Covid-19) and will be keeping an eye out for the release of a tender from Chevron early in 2022, for a campaign later next year.