Cyprus starts new natural gas drilling in offshore field
NICOSIA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus started a new drilling on Thursday in an offshore field prospecting for natural gas which experts believe lie in abundance under the sea in the Levantine basin of the eastern Mediterranean.
The drilling is done by a joint Italian-South Korean venture made up of ENI and KOGAS energy companies in a field of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.
A total of four drillings have been planned by ENI-KOGAS in 2015 in two other fields for which it has acquired concessions.
Texas-based Noble Energy, in association with two Israeli state companies, has already tapped a gas field estimated to contain about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in a nearby field.
Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, who visited by helicopter the drillship about 70 kilometers off the south-east shores of the eastern Mediterranean island, said it will take up to 80 days to complete the drilling and first indications about any hydrocarbon reserves will become known in December.
But he cautioned against too big expectations, saying that despite encouraging indications the risk of failure is high.
Experts believe that the Cypriot exclusive economic zone may contain up to 62 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to meet the needs of the bailed out island for the next 200 years.
Israel has taped rich gas reserves in two fields next to the Cypriot sites and is considering options on how to develop its reserves.
Possible positive indications as to Cypriot reserves may lead to a decision to set up a natural gas liquefaction plant on Cyprus, with a gas pipe to Europe either through Greece or Turkey as an alternative option.
Though Cypriot gas is not expected to start flowing before 2018 or even later, Egypt and Jordan have asked to be among Cyprus's clients for early delivery.
The European Union is also closely watching developments in gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean island as it is eager to find alternative sources of energy to Russian gas on which many EU countries currently depend.
Link to source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=243303
