ExxonMobil plans to drill a natural gas well in Cyprus in January, according to a senior executive. The company is one of many energy companies that are focusing on this region, as Europe looks for alternatives to Russia.
In recent years, major gas discoveries have been made in the east Mediterranean. Meanwhile, a disruption of energy supplies by Russia following its invasion in Ukraine in 2022 has heightened Europe’s focus on finding alternative sources.
Exxon, who won Cyprus licenses in 2017, announced a natural-gas discovery in 2019 in a well named Glaucus. The conglomerate will drill two new wells in 2019, Pegasus and Electra.
John Ardill is Vice-President of Global Exploration at ExxonMobil. He said: “We have spent the past two years collecting detailed three dimensional data. We have identified several large prospect, and we will bring in a drill rig to test them.”
He told a Nicosia conference that he was “very excited” about the prospect of spudding his first well.
ExxonMobil has been granted a license to explore hydrocarbons in two offshore blocks as part of a partnership between Qatar Energy and ExxonMobil. Other multinationals include U.S.-based Chevron, Italy’s Eni, and France’s TotalEnergies.
Energy Minister George Papanastasiou stated earlier this month that Cyprus may consider a second round of licensing for offshore exploration due to the high level of interest in the region.
Ardill stated that Electra was a large prospect located in Block 5 of the 13 offshore exploration zones for Cyprus. It had the potential to become a stand-alone development, but would need appraisal drilling before any conclusions could be made. Pegasus is close to the already discovered Glaucus, in Block 10, and Cronos, a discovery made by Eni/Total in Block 6, which lies just north.
Ardill stated that there is a huge potential in gas exploration. (Reporting and editing by David Evans; Michele Kambas)
(source: Reuters)
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Publish date : 2024-11-21 07:26:00
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