Saturday, October 16, 2021

Cyprus, Egypt sign deal to speed up electricity grid linkage - THE SEATTLE TIMES / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oct. 16, 2021 at 5:04 pm
The Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — An undersea cable linking the electricity grids of Cyprus and Egypt could be key to helping both countries transition to a green economy and meet their commitments on battling climate change, the Cypriot energy minister said Saturday.

Minister Natasa Pilides said a memorandum of understanding she signed with Egypt’s Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi sketches out the project’s planning, development and implementation.

“Fortifying our electricity grids and allowing the further integration of renewables in our respective energy mix, enhancing the security of our energy supply and enabling us to become exporters of energy, are but a few of the tangible benefits,” Pilides said.

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Cyprus: ExxonMobil to gauge gas field size in 6-8 weeks - MIAMI HERALD, ASSOCIATED PRESS

OCTOBER 14, 2021 3:07 PM
Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, CYPRUS Drilling by ExxonMobil set for late next month to confirm how much natural gas is contained in a sizable deposit off Cyprus' southwestern coast will map out how the fuel will reach potential markets in Europe and Asia, the island nation's energy minister said on Wednesday.

Minister Natasa Pilides says the “significant” drilling at the ‘Glaucus-1’ well inside block 10 of Cyprus’ exclusive zone scheduled to start in 6-8 weeks will determine if the deposit is at the higher or lower end of its estimated size of 5-8 trillion cubic feet (142-227 billion cubic meters) of natural gas.

A higher confirmed quantity would naturally mean greater profits and in turn push exploitation of the deposit up the priority list for ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum among the different projects they’re currently working on.