08/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Gas windfall to service the debt? Potential gas windfall revenue from natural gas reserves in Cyprus could be used when calculating the country's debt sustainability, but the eurozone wants more information about the volume, type and quality of the gas reserves before deciding on the matter, said the new head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, on Thursday 7 February, addressing Dutch parliamentarians in The Hague: “Let's first wait for some first drilling, and see how much it is, what type of gas it is, what kind of quality before we possibly include it in a programme”. If the windfall cash can be used, it might be paid into a special account for debt servicing purposes. If so, this could provide Cyprus with a lifeboat because its total bailout needs currently risk being of the order of its entire GDP. According to a report from the Royal Bank of Scotland, the island's potential gas reserves could be worth some €600 billion. (EL/transl.fl)