Fears that the SAIPEM 10000 drill ship would come up empty handed have been confirmed with Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said to brief the parliamentary representatives of the political parties on Thursday of the failure to locate hydrocarbons at the “Amathousa” reservoir.
Italian-South Korean consortium ENI/KOGAS are still evaluating all data collected during the exploratory well, to be used in the future, but the findings are so far not good. The evaluation had taken time and money due to the complex geological landscape of the area.
ENI/KOGAS had been awarded exploration licenses in blocks 2,3 and 9 of Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Prior to drilling, ENI completed three seismic surveys, and its overall planning includes 6 wells.
Despite the setback, ENI/KOGAS are refusing to give up and are reportedly ready to seek an exploration extension from the government – something that would run them up further costs of around hundreds of millions of dollars.
They have already paid up €400million.
Although ENI/KOGAS are not expected to issue some kind of announcement, Lakkotrypis is and will go ahead with a briefing in parliament on Thursday.
The exact size of block 9 is 4,000 square kilometres and that include blocks 2 and 3 which some experts predict is rich in quantities of hydrocarbons.
The SAIPEM 10000 drill ship is set to leave Cyprus’ shores and sail off to a Mediterranean port for maintenance.
Earlier this month, Noble Energy said it expected to declare its Aphrodite natural gas reserve off Cyprus commercially viable within weeks, paving the way for exports.
The move would be an important milestone for Cyprus, which required an international bailout in 2013 and is now looking at an economic turnaround based partly on offshore reserves.
Cyprus is seeking to develop the energy sector to bolster an economy that relies mostly on tourism, business services and shipping.
Cyprus and Egypt are looking into the possibility of transferring gas from the Aphrodite deposit to Egypt via an undersea pipeline. The island has, for now, shelved plans to create its own liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.
Noble is the only company licensed by Cyprus to have made a discovery, with an estimated 4.54 trillion cubic feet in its Aphrodite field.
Keith Elliot, senior vice-president for Noble in the Eastern Mediterranean, described the field’s prospects as a tremendous opportunity.
“We hope (it) will bring prosperity to both the people of Cyprus and the government of Cyprus, as well as the other countries in the region,” Elliot said.
