Egypt and Eni-Total consortium to sign deal on processing Cypriot natural gas for export - ASSOCIATED PRESS

January 24, 2025
MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Egypt and a consortium made up of energy companies Total of France and Italy’s Eni will next month sign a key agreement to transport natural gas from an undersea deposit inside Cypriot waters to Egypt where it will be liquefied and processed for export, officials said Friday.

Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou described the agreement as “most significant” because it allows the consortium to sort out all the technical details on how to get the gas from the Cronos gas deposit to Egyptian processing plants for liquefaction and eventual export to markets including Europe.

Papanastasiou said the Eni-Total consortium, which holds exploratory licenses for seven of 13 areas or blocks inside Cyprus’ offshore economic zone, will make a final decision on how it will extract and convey the gas before the summer this year.

A recent assessment indicates that Cronos is estimated to hold more than the Aphrodite deposit, the first major discovery inside Cypriot waters which is estimated to contain 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The so-called host-government agreement will be signed at Egypt’s energy summit that will be held between Feb. 17-19, said Egyptian Oil Minister Kadim Badawi, who met earlier with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

ExxonMobil Strikes Gas Off Cyprus - JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

May 1, 2022

The Cyprus energy ministry confirmed a reservoir of high-quality gas was encountered by the ExxonMobil-led Glaucus-2 appraisal well. The drilling of the well was conducted in the area known as Block 10 in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that has been challenged by Turkey. The ministry said that operations in the EEZ included production testing.

“The consortium will proceed with a detailed analysis and evaluation of the data collected to more accurately determine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the reservoir, as well as potential development and commercialization of the discoveries,” the ministry said in a statement.

Cyprus previously estimated gas resources in the reservoir of between 5 and 8 Tcf when the discovery from the Glaucus-1 well was announced in 2019. ExxonMobil and Block 10 partner Qatar Petroleum began drilling the Glaucus-2 well using drillship Stena Forth in December 2021.

ExxonMobil is the operator and holds a 60% interest in Block 10. Qatar Petroleum International Upstream OPC holds the remaining 40% stake.

Evaluation drilling completed at Glafcos 2, high quality natural gas found - CYPRUS MAIL

March 21, 20224
Constantinos Tsindas

Evaluation drilling in the Glafcos 2 offshore plot 10 has been completed successfully and safely, the energy ministry said on Monday.

The drilling activity, which also included production testing, was carried out by the ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited / Qatar Petroleum International Upstream LLC joint venture, which holds the hydrocarbon licence for the plot.

The drilling work led to the discovery of a natural gas concentration with high quality characteristics, the ministry said.

The companies involved will proceed with a detailed analysis and evaluation of all collected data for a more precise specification of quality and quantity as well as feasible options in developing and commercialising the find.

Turkey complains to UN over Cyprus gas moves - KATHIMERINI

31.12.2021 • 11:59
Vassilis Nedos

Turkey has sent a letter of complaint to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres taking issue with Cyprus’ recent decision to grant natural gas exploration rights to the ExxonMobil/Qatar Petroleum consortium in Block 5 of its exclusive economic zone and to move ahead with exploratory drilling in Block 10.

Note: Turkey must be told to address the rights of its 20+ million Kurdish community before preaching and threatening Cypriots about their 15% minority community.

In the letter, dated December 20, Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN, Feridun Sinirlioglu, describes Cyprus’ decision for Block 10 as “another example among the many escalatory steps jeopardizing peace and stability.” He also stresses the determination of Turkey and the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus to protect their legal rights and interests against such “unilateral acts and provocations.”

With regard to Block 5, Sinirlioglu claims the deal violates Turkey’s rights, adding that Turkey “will not allow any unauthorized hydrocarbon activity within its continental shelf.”

ExxonMobil, Qatar awarded Block 5 gas rights - CYPRUS MAIL

December 2, 2021
George Psyllides

The cabinet on Thursday awarded natural gas exploration rights for an offshore block to a consortium made up of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum.

Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said ExxonMobil would be administering the Block 5 concession with a share of 60 per cent.

“In addition, I have been authorised to sign on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus, the exploration and production sharing contract agreed with the consortium after intense negotiations,” the minister said.

ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum plan on drilling an appraisal well in Block 10, where natural gas was discovered, towards the end of November or early December.

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.

President talks gas with ExxonMobil - CYPRUS MAIL

September 25, 2021

President Nicos Anastasiades and ExxonMobil discussed the company’s drilling plans in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) block 10, during a meeting in New York, a presidency statement said Saturday.

The ExxonMobil delegation was headed by Senior Vice President Mike Cousins.

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides and Energy Minister Natasa Pilidou also took part.

The two sides discussed issues related to the company’s plans in block 10 and developments in the eastern Mediterranean as well as further actions on the part of the government of Cyprus regarding the unhindered implementation of its energy designs in Cyprus’ EEZ.

ExxonMobil plans to start gas drilling by end of year - CYPRUS MAIL

August 16, 2021
George Psyllides

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum plan on drilling for gas in an offshore block towards the end of the year, Energy Minister Natasa Pilidou has said.

In an interview with daily Politis, the minister said the two companies planned on drilling an appraisal well in block 10 where natural gas was discovered towards the end of November or early December.

“The experts who will take part in the appraisal drill at the Glaucus [Glafcos] well are already in our country and we are in constant contact with the company concerning the procedures that will be followed, both as regards measures against the pandemic, and the plan, the budget, timeframes, etc,” Pilidou said.

French, Italian Companies Will Drill for Energy off Cyprus - THE NATIONAL HERALD

February 21, 2020

NICOSIA – Ignoring threats from Turkey, a French-Italian consortium of oil companies Total and ENI said they will begin drilling off Cyprus despite between oil giants Total and ENI will start drilling in Block 6 of Cyprus’ despite an “escalation” in tension, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said.

That would be done in Block 6 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ,) parts of which Turkey doesn’t recognize and as it has sent in two ships to also hunt for energy despite denunciation from the legitimate government, a member of the European Union that Turkey has been trying to join for 15 years.

The French and Italian companies said they would start in April although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish warships near the EEZ could use the threat of military force to stop them, as they did earlier when an ENI ship steered away.

More US companies will join Cyprus gas exploitation, says Ambassador - IN CYPRUS / CNA

September 5, 2019 at 4:19pm
Annie Charalambous (edited by)

More US energy companies will operate in Cyprus to help extract rich natural gas resources, joining ExxonMobil and Noble Energy.

This is what US Ambassador Judith Garber told a business dinner in Nicosia on Wednesday.

“We are proud that two American companies – ExxonMobil and Noble Energy – are participating in this game-changing development…I firmly believe other U.S. companies in the energy sector will join them, as Cyprus transitions from discovery of energy resources to the hard task of bringing those resources to market,” she also said.

She then stressed that the discovery of hydrocarbons in the EEZ of Cyprus offers “great promise and responsibility”.

“We hope, such resources promote prosperity in the entire Eastern Mediterranean region and help to diversify Europe’s energy supply,” she added.

Mytilineos Group overtakes DEPA as major LNG importer in 2019 - KATHIMERINI

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9, 2019

Private Greek industrial group Mytilineos has overtaken incumbent DEPA to become the country’s biggest LNG importer this year, the first time in history that an independent company has knocked the state-owned company from the top spot, ICIS an information platform on petrochemicals and specifically on energy issues, fertilisers and other commodities said in a report.

Mytilineos imported over 370,000 tonnes of LNG from January to July, or 39 percent of the national total supplies, according to LNG Edge. DEPA took 273,000 tonnes, or 29 percent.

DEPA’s market share was 92 percent last year, and has never previously fallen below 50 pct. The shift indicates the progress made in one of the last countries in the European Union to liberalize its gas market.

The market began opening back in 2005, but momentum picked up from 2018 when the retail market was fully liberalized, leaving consumers free to choose their supplier. DEPA has been losing customers ever since.

With demand from the electricity power sector as well as industrial needs in aluminium manufacturing, Mytilineos is at the forefront of the market.

Cyprus backs Total-Eni partnership in offshore gas drilling - KATHIMERINI

TUESDAY JULY 30, 2019 : 19:07

Cyprus has licensed a consortium made up of France’s Total and Italy’s Eni to search for hydrocarbons in another area that the east Mediterranean island nation has exclusive economic rights, the country’s energy minister said Tuesday.

Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis said the two oil companies will each have 50 percent rights to Block 7, one of 13 areas composing the country’s exclusive economic zone off its south coast.

Total will be the designated operator in the block which borders three others where deposits of natural gas have been discovered. It’s believed a gas field found in the adjacent Block 6 that also belongs jointly to Total and Eni may extend in to Block 7.

Lakkotrypis says the government has also approved Total’s participation in four other blocks where Eni had a license. Total’s rights to the four blocks range from 20 percent to 40 percent.

Cyprus ponders gas monetisation options - PETROLEUM ECONOMIST

Nicosia, 29 April 2019

Gerald Butt

New natural gas discoveries offshore Cyprus have revived the possibility of the island hosting an LNG plant

Cyprus is finally in a position where it can realistically start exploring a number of ways of getting natural gas to market. Seven years after the first discovery in Cyprus' offshore economic exclusion zone (EEZ) — the Aphrodite field in Block 12 (4.5tn ft3 of gas in place) — the island has notched up two more finds.

Last year, an Eni-Total consortium struck gas at Calypso in Block 6 (estimated 3-5tn ft3). The most recent newcomer is Glaucus-1 (5-8tn ft3) in Block 10, discovered by ExxonMobil, partnered by Qatar Petroleum.

Energy minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, addressing Gulf Energy's Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference in Nicosia in early March, said the "quality of the reservoir in Block 10 allows us to be optimistic about the very high recoverability potential" of the ExxonMobil discovery. Last year, the first well drilled on Block 10 failed to find commercial reserves. With the Glaucos success, "we are waiting for the remodelling or re-calibrating of geological data and will look again at Block 10 targets".

Exclusive: Exxon eyes Israel gas bid in major Middle East shift - REUTERS

MARCH 13, 2019 / 10:28 PM

Ron Bousso

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp is considering exploring for oil and gas in Israel, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, in what would make Exxon the first oil major to operate in the country still technically at war with Gulf Arab states.

A number of large gas discoveries offshore Israel and in nearby eastern Mediterranean waters in the last decade have made Israel a potentially lucrative prospect for big energy firms. The region is emerging as a new hot spot for gas exploration and production.

Until those discoveries, Israel was believed to be sitting on scant oil and gas reserves. There was little reason for energy firms to explore for energy in Israel and risk complicating operations and future investments in nearby Arab countries that hold some of the world’s largest energy reserves.

ExxonMobil Makes Natural Gas Discovery Offshore Cyprus - EXXONMOBIL

Feb 28, 2019 - 07:15 a.m. EST

Irving Texas

• Glaucus-1 well encounters a gas-bearing reservoir of approximately 436 feet (133 meters)
• Well is located in offshore Block 10 southwest of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Further evaluation of Block 10 potential continues

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil today said it has made a natural gas discovery offshore Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean at the Glaucus-1 well.

The well, located in Block 10, encountered a gas-bearing reservoir of approximately 436 feet (133 meters). The well was safely drilled to 13,780 feet (4,200 meters) depth in 6,769 feet (2,063 meters) of water.

Based on preliminary interpretation of the well data, the discovery could represent an in-place natural gas resource of approximately 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet (142 billion to 227 billion cubic meters). Further analysis in the coming months will be required to better determine the resource potential.

“These are encouraging results in a frontier exploration area,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. “The potential for this newly discovered resource to serve as an energy source for regional and global markets will be evaluated further.”

Glaucus-1 was the second of a two-well drilling program in Block 10. The first well, Delphyne-1, did not encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.

Block 10 is 635,554 acres (2,572 square kilometers). ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited is operator and holds 60 percent interest in the block. Qatar Petroleum International Upstream O.P.C. holds 40 percent interest.

ExxonMobil finds Cyprus’ largest gas discovery to date - IN CYPRUS

February 28, 2019 at 4:15pm

ExxonMobil has discovered natural gas at the Glaucus 1-well in plot 10 of Cyprus’ EEZ  — a find authorities said was the biggest off Cyprus since it started drilling for gas in 2011 and one of the biggest finds worldwide in the past two years.

A gas bearing reservoir discovered during exploratory drilling could potentially represent between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, the company and the Cyprus government said.

The announcement was made by Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and ExxonMobil’s Vice President Europe Russia Caspian and Asia Pacific / Middle East, Tristan Aspray.

“This is the biggest find so far in Cyprus, and based on some official data it is one of the biggest finds worldwide in the past two years,” Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said.  “The results demonstrate the potential of our EEZ because it is a high-quality  reservoir,” he added.

Cypriot Energy Minister Announcing the Glaucus 5-8 tcf discovery - LINKED-IN

28 February 2019 

Georgios Lakkotrypis, Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry & Tourism at Government of Cyprus:

"@ExxonMobil & @QatarPetroleum make a world-class discovery offshore #Cyprus at #Glaucus. A high-quality reservoir 5-8 TCF of #NatGas is added to the country’s reserves. It demonstrates the emergence of the Republic‘s #EEZ as an alternative indigenous source of supply to the #EU."

ENERGY: ExxonMobil could announce Cyprus exploration results next week - FINANCIAL MIRROR

21 February, 2019

Eagerly awaited results from two test drills offshore Cyprus for hydrocarbons by US energy giant ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum are expected to be announced next week, according to reports.

It is believed that Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis could announce the end of the exploration drills next Monday with both the government and ExxonMobil declaring the results soon after, although President Nicos Anastasiades will be consulted first.

Earlier this month, local media speculated that ExxonMobil could announce a “sizeable find” in block 10 following exploration drills at wells Delphine-1 and Glafcos-1 in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

A high-level Cypriot source, who reportedly spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the reserve isn't as large as the Zohr gas field in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean but “has a similar reserve.”

The reserve – found at Glafcos-1 - was said to hold at least 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – the minimum amount required to make it commercially viable.

Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company Takes Strides Towards Country’s Emergence as Energy Hub - SOUTH EU SUMMIT

1 FEBRUARY 2019

The Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company was established in 2014, following natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean, to be in charge of all hydrocarbon discoveries in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. As the world’s youngest national oil and gas company, it is working diligently under the leadership of Dr. Toula Onoufriou, to support the development of Cyprus’ hydrocarbons’ sector, and make the vision of Cyprus as a regional energy hub a reality.

First drilling in Block 10 completed - KNEWS / KATHIMERINI

The British drillship Stena IceMax at new target in Block 10 

09 JANUARY 2019 - 13:30
Apostolis Tomaras

Results to be announced after new exploratory drilling on target Glaucus-1

As expected, ExxonMobil's first exploratory drilling in Block 10 has been completed.

According to an official announcement from the Ministry of Energy, exploratory drilling on target Delphyne-1 by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited and Qatar Petroleum International Upstream O.P.C. has been completed.

The Ministry of Energy has announced that the British drilling rig Stena Icemax has already been relocated and work has started on the second target in Block 10 named Glaucus-1.

Kathimerini reports that Stena Icemax will continue its work on the new prospect until next month.

Omitted from the official announcement are the results of the drilling in Delphyne-1, which the Ministry of Energy and ExxoMobil decided to publish only after the completion of the new drilling in Glaucus-1.