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.

Eni-Total discovers large gas deposits in block six, reports say (updated) - CYPRUS MAIL

August 5, 2022 

Nick Theodoulou

A large natural gas deposit has been discovered by ENI/Total in block six of Cyprus’ EEZ, daily Alithia and state broadcaster Cybc reported on Friday, but the energy ministry later stated drilling at the block is still in progress.

The initial report added that an official announcement is expected once more work has been carried out, while there are positive indications that there may be more deposits nearby.

Soon after the reports emerged, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides warned that: “Block six is one of the seven locations which Turkey has decided to carry out illegal drillings.”

Kasoulides told radio Trito he hopes the positive developments on new deposits will not be impacted by the Abdulhamid Han, Turkey’s newest drillship.

The minister further stated that there are procedures when new deposits are located namely that the energy ministry is informed first and the company issues its announcement soon after.

Possible Turkish provocations near Cyprus’ gas exploration plot 6 not ruled out - IN-CYPRUS

21 JUNE 2022

Nicosia is not ruling out possible provocations by Turkey near natural gas exploration plot 6 within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the near future, Philenews reported on Tuesday.

This is what President Nicos Anastasiades told National Council members who met on Monday, adding that Turkey is likely to send a fourth survey-conducting vessel in the Mediterranean island’s EEZ, in full violation of international law.

Turkey continues to carry its Eastern Mediterranean provocative operations on sea into the summer, leading to an escalating war of words with both Cyprus and Greece.

Nicosia is certain that the target of the Turkish actions this time will be block 6. However, Turkey’s actions are carried out in such a way that problems do not arise with the countries whose companies are active in Cyprus’ EEZ.

Drilling of first Eni-Total well expected in the coming weeks – Energy Minister (Update) - CYPRUS MAIL

April 10, 20229

Cyprus’s Energy Minister, Natasa Pilidou, said that drilling of the first well in the Eni-Total consortium will get underway in the coming weeks.

Pilides, in an interview to Greek-language newspaper ‘Kathimerini’, said that the government is in continuous contact with the Eni-Total consortium for two exploratory wells in 2022.

According to the Energy Minister, the consortium’s delay until now has been due mainly to the effects of measures taken worldwide to address the Covid pandemic.

Regarding the results of drilling at the Glafcos 2 target well by ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum (QP), Pilidou expressed the government’s satisfaction. “Preliminary results are expected in the coming months,” she said, noting that no announcement is expected before the evaluation is completed.

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.

Drillship docks in Larnaca port - KATHIMERINI

THURSDAY JULY 2, 2020, 09:13

The Tungsten Explorer drillship, which is expected to be used in the Total-Eni consortium’s drilling activities in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has moved to the port of Larnaca, state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency (ANA-MPA) reports.

Earlier reports had said that the drill vessel would move from Lebanon, where it was conducting exploratory drilling off the coast of Beirut, to Trinidad and Tobago for a different offshore project.

Eventually, a decision was made that the vessel remains docked in Cyprus for the next few months, raising hopes that energy exploration will begin off the Mediterranean island after several delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and developments in the broader region.

President meets Total chief in Paris - CYPRUS MAIL

Anastasiades (L), Pouyanne (R)

July 1, 2018

Katy Turner

Total’s energy programme was discussed during a meeting in Paris between President Nicos Anastasiades and the general director of the company Patrick Pouyanne, during which he reiterated Total’s interest in increasing its presence in Cyprus.

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said during the meeting on Saturday evening “the company’s commitment to Cyprus was repeated”.

At the same time, the company “reconfirmed its increased interest in the EEZ of our country”.

Prodromou was in the meeting, as was Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis.

In a tweet, Lakkotrypis said the company had expressed “intense interest in expanding its interests in Cyprus’ EEZ”.

Total and Italian company ENI are partners in blocks 11 and 6. An exploratory drilling carried out in early 2017 in Calypso target revealed a “promising discovery” but no data have been disclosed yet concerning the size of the reservoir size.

France’s Total may expand presence into block 8 of EEZ (Updated) - CYPRUS MAIL

MAY 21, 2018

French energy giant Total, wants to expand its presence into block 8 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace after the meeting between President Nicos Anastasiades and the Regional Director of Total, Stephane Michel, Lakkotrypis said the discussion had been constructive. “The next steps in the exploration programme were discussed and one of the most important issues was the interest by Total in participating in block 8,” he said.

Block 8 was licensed to Italy’s ENI and “now we see interest by the French company to grow in this segment. It is a very important development that strengthens the [ENI-Total] consortium and expand its presence in Cyprus’ EEZ,” Lakkotrypis added. The consortium has 50 per cent stake each in blocks 6 and 11.

Cyprus in talks with ENI-Total on Calypso timetable - CYPRUS MAIL

APRIL 2, 2018

Elias Hazou

The government is in talks with the consortium of ENI-Total regarding their timetable for an appraisal, or follow-up drill at the Calypso gas prospect in offshore block 6, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Monday.

At the same time, he added, the government is discussing with ENI the latter’s broader exploration programme in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“ENI is a big regional player, it has concessions on several[offshore] blocks, and we are discussing with them their exploration programme,” Lakkotrypis told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Nicosia.

In February, ENI announced that it made a discovery of lean gas off the coast of Cyprus after drilling an exploratory well at Calypso. The company said it believed the gas play to hold around 6 to 8 trillion cubic feet.

Eni/Total find natgas off Cyprus in field close to Zohr - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 8, 2018 / 12:34 PM

Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans

ATHENS (Reuters) - Italy’s Eni and France’s Total have discovered a promising natural gas field off Cyprus, Eni said on Thursday, saying the find looked geologically similar to the mammoth Zohr field off Egypt.

Further analysis was required to determine the range of gas volumes and define further exploration and appraisal operations, Eni said.

“Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the ‘Zohr like’ play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” Eni said in a statement.

Eni is the operator of the offshore block with a 50 percent participation interest, while Total is a partner with the remaining 50 percent.

The Italian oil and gas group reported the Zohr discovery in 2015. Located in the Egyptian offshore Shorouk block about 190 km north of Port Said, Zohr holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, the largest ever discovered in the Mediterranean.

Calypso in Cyprus’s waters is an estimated 80 km away.

In Nicosia, Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said an “extensive column” of clean natural gas was discovered.

Cyprus: "Calypso" (block 6) could very well be hiding a little Zohr - PHILELEFTHEROS / TEKMOR

3 FEB 2018, 10:46 πμ

Petros Theocharides (translated by TEKMOR associates)

During the initial stages when the drill came in contact with the well there was relative disappointment since gas was found but in sedimentary rocks, which, due to the very low permeability, did not allow hopes for a measurable deposit and did not confirm a Zohr-like target with carbonates in primitives reefs.

However, when the drill reached a few tens of meters below, it showed exactly what the ENI experts were looking for, the Zohr-type deposit, and even beyond the optimistic deviations in the experts' formulas. The drilling took place where the depth of the sea was 1,902 meters and reached a depth of about 1,800 meters below the seabed.

One of its important features is that it extends from block 6 where the main body of the deposit is located and fairly well within block 10 where the ExxonMobil - Qatar Petroleum consortium has rights, as is the case with 11, licensed to the ENI-TOTAL partnership similarly to block6, but it also extends in block 7 which was not awarded during Cyprus' 3rd licensing round. 

The "PHILELEPTHEROS" newspaper's information suggests that the area of ​​the field reaches up to 35% of  Egypt's Zohr, so, although very conservative and moderate for the time being, experts talk about the possibility of a "small Zohr ".

The full article in Greek follows.

Italian firm to drill 2 wells off Cyprus in next 2 months - ASSOCIATED PRESS / YAHOO FINANCE

November 24, 2017Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- The top executive of ENI said Friday that the Italian oil and gas company will drill two exploratory wells off Cyprus over the next two months, expressing confidence that significant reserves can be found for possible export to Europe.

ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi described Cyprus as a "natural bridge" linking existing and potential gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean with Europe, which is looking to diversify its energy sources amid increasing gas consumption.

"We believe in Cyprus," Descalzi said after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. "Cyprus is a natural bridge to Europe and Europe is importing more than 70 percent of its gas and gas consumption is growing."

Gas consumption rose 5 percent in Europe last year and it will increase annually by 100 million cubic meters (3.5 billion cubic feet) each of the next two years, said Descalzi.

The first exploratory well will be drilled in partnership with France's Total next month in an area off the island's southwest. ENI and South Korea's Kogas will start drilling for the second well in January in the island's southeast.

Descalzi said ENI has a "strategic" interest in the region as waters around Cyprus remain largely unexplored. ENI has invested 450 million euros ($533 million) in exploratory drilling, seismic and geological surveys.

He said Italy is in talks with Cyprus, Egypt and Greece to possibly create a new energy corridor to Europe, with options including processing newly found gas at Egypt-based plants for export to the continent. Another option is to supply Cyprus' domestic needs.

Previous drilling had failed to locate sizeable gas deposits off Cyprus, but that hasn't disheartened companies licensed to drill in Cypriot waters. Descalzi said companies drilled 11 times in nearby Egyptian waters and found nothing before ENI discovered Zohr, the largest gas deposit ever found in the Mediterranean.

"You have to continue, and Cyprus is still a virgin area because we didn't drill a lot of wells, just 2-3 wells, so we're optimistic," said Descalzi.

Earlier, Texas-based Noble Energy discovered a field off Cyprus estimated to contain over 4 trillion cubic feet in reserves.

ExxonMobil said it will go ahead with drilling two wells in the second half of next year.

SOURCE

Less gas than expected at Cyprus’ Onisiforos - IN CYPRUS

September 9, 2017

Findings so far at Cyprus’ Onisiforos-West 1 region of Block 11 have reportedly proved to be somewhat disappointing at around one trillion cubic feet [corrected] of natural gas discovered, not enough to be commercially marketable on its own.

As reported by Greek-language daily Phileleftheros on Saturday, this also means that the deposit can only be exploited through the development of neighbouring deposits.

The paper said this was the impression that had emerged from the preliminary data collected by initial drilling, which ended late on Friday.

US oil giant ExxonMobil plans Cyprus gas exploration - MAIL ONLINE / AFP

6 September 2017 | UPDATED: 17:45 BST

US oil company ExxonMobil has signed an agreement to start drilling off the southern coast of Cyprus, pictured in 2015, as Cyprus looks to exploit more of its oil and natural gas resources

US giant ExxonMobil said Wednesday it plans to start drilling at two sites in the second half of 2018 to explore for energy reserves off the south coast of Cyprus.

Preparations to support the drilling operations are already underway, the company´s vice president Tristan Aspray said at a presentation in Nicosia.

He said the operations would take place back-to-back and begin in the second half of 2018.

Exxon Mobil ready to drill - IN CYPRUS

September 2, 2017
George Telaveris

September could be another milestone for Cyprus’ energy plans, as ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum consortium is about to announce its exploration programme in Block 10.

At the same time, the Total-Eni consortium will be announcing results from its natural gas exploration in Onesiphoros Block 11.

“ExxonMobil had been particularly active since signing the contracts with Cyprus in April, and is ready to give more details regarding its exploration programme,” a person familiar with the matter told the Cyprus Weekly.

The energy ministry and the consortium were not immediately available to comment.

Results from Block 11 will determine ENI’s next targets - CYPRUS MAIL

AUGUST 10TH, 2017

Italian energy giant ENI expects the results of exploratory drilling in Cyprus’ offshore Block 11, to determine its next drilling target within the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Sources told Cyprus News Agency that ENI was preparing for two drillings, which should be completed by the first quarter of 2018, but the targets had not yet been determined. The company wants first to evaluate the results of drilling by Total /ENI Consortium in Block 11.

The company has applied to secure all permits for drilling for three blocks, 8, 6 and 3 which include an environmental study, the offshore protocol and a licence from the department of labour for the safety of the drilling.

‘Block 11 looks extremely promising’, gas expert says - CYPRUS MAIL

Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades (left) w/ European Commission's
president Jean-Claude Juncker

March 9, 2017
Elias Hazou

The partnership between French oil and gas major Total and Italy’s ENI in offshore Block 11 is an extremely significant development as it greatly increases the chances for a natural gas discovery in the licensed acreage, an energy analyst has told the Cyprus Mail.

“We have here a combination of Total’s technical know-how with ENI’s intimate knowledge of the proximate acreage after their discovery of the Zohr gas field in Egyptian waters,” Charles Ellinas said.

The expert confirmed reports that Block 11 is looking extremely promising.

To date, four or five targets have been identified there, he added.

ENI-TOTAL synergy on block “11” the best that could happen, says Executive Director of CHC - FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE / CNA

Thursday, 09 March, 2017

Speaking to CNA, he also said that the synergy between energy companies ENI and TOTAL is the best that could happen to the block `11`.

Executive Director of Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (CHC) Panos Kelamis said Wednesday that he was very optimistic as to the prospects of Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), following the successful completion of negotiations for the third licensing round.

Speaking to CNA, he also said that the synergy between energy companies ENI and TOTAL is the best that could happen to the block `11`.

"The prospects are very good," noted the Greek former staff member of Saudi Aramco, referring to the successful completion of negotiations for licensing of blocks "6”, "8” and "10” of the Cyprus EEZ, announced Tuesday by the Minister of Energy George Lakkotrypis. He added that from his background on the exploration he is "too optimistic", but noted that "we should all have patience."

Israel Puts Off License Award In First Offshore Oil, Gas Bid Round - OIL PRICE

Feb 10, 2017, 3:26 PM CST
Tsvetana Paraskova

Israel has extended the original deadlines for each step of its first offshore oil and gas bid round launched last November, Energy Minister Yuval Steiniz said on Thursday.

Under the original plan for re-opening Israel’s offshore to new oil and gas exploration, the country announced its first bid round for development of resources in its territorial waters. At the time, minister Steiniz quoted independent research as having estimated that there are additional resources in a range of 6.6 billion barrels of oil and 2,137 BCM of natural gas yet to be found offshore Israel. The ministry is auctioning off 24 exploration blocks of up to 400 square kilometers (154.4 square miles) each, and will award 3-year licenses, extendable by another 3 years under certain conditions. In order to keep a healthy competition, companies with significant holdings in active offshore leases in the area are not allowed to bid. That means that Israel’s Delek and U.S.-based Noble Energy – which are developing the giant Leviathan natural gas field – are not bidding.

Italy's Eni Expands Footprint in Cyprus with New Blocks - FORBES

DEC 29, 2016 @ 07:50 PM Christopher Coats
Continuing to expand its footprint in the Eastern Mediterranean, Italy's Eni has won two exploration blocks in waters near Cyprus this week as a part of a "competitive international bid round", according to media reports.

The announcement relates to the company's acquisition of Block 8 and a 50% stake in Block 6, with the remainder going to project partner, Total SA TOT.

The announcement signals an expanded presence in the region, building on existing stakes in Cyprus and a significant stake in a "super giant" gas discovery in nearby Egypt. According to the report, Eni has already been awarded blocks 2,3 and 9 in a 2012 bid round.