A consortium made up of energy companies, Eni from Italy and France’s Total, is expediting plans to develop natural gas deposits off the island of Cyprus following the discovery of a third field containing 2-3 trillion cubic feet of hydrocarbon inside the same licensed exploration area, announced the Greek Cypriot administration's energy ministry on Wednesday.
The ministry announced the discovery at the “Zeus-1” well some 162 kilometers (100 miles) inside Block 6 off the Greek Cypriot coastline, at a depth of 2,300 meters (1.42 miles).
The field, containing a 105-meter (344-foot) column of gas is located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) west of the “Cronos-1” well where the consortium announced the discovery of an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in August.
The consortium made its initial gas discovery in Block 6 in 2018 at the “Calypso-1” well, but has not offered any size estimate yet.
The ministry said the newest discovery “reaffirms the promising potential of the area” as the Greek Cypriot administration looks to export hydrocarbon amid an energy crisis compounded by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Greek Cypriot administration's Energy Minister, Natasa Pilides, told Associated Press (AP) on Monday that the amount of gas already discovered inside Cyprus’ offshore economic zone is estimated at 12-15 trillion cubic feet approximately. Other companies with exploration licenses for blocks inside Greek Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone include Chevron, and partners such as Dutch Shell, Israeli NewMed, as well as ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum.
By far, the Eni-Total consortium holds the most concession — 7 of 13 blocs that make up Cyprus’ zone.
Chevron, Shell and NewMed are developing the Aphrodite field, estimated to hold approximately 4.25 trillion cubic feet of gas, expected for market delivery by 2027.
There is enough natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean area for export until at least 2050, according to analyses by the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, a body composed of Greece, Italy, Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, France, Jordan and Palestine, in which Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are not included.
The forum was deemed an unrealistic formation by Ankara, as it ignores the rights of the TRNC, which shares the island country with Greek Cypriots.
Türkiye stresses that the forum was established by some countries with political motives and is dreaming of leaving Türkiye out of the energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Greek Cypriot administration side signed the so-called exclusive economic zone restriction agreements in 2003 with Egypt, in 2007 with Lebanon and in 2010 with Israel.
The Greek Cypriot administration unilaterally declared a total of 13 so-called parcels in the Eastern Mediterranean as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and allowed international oil and drilling companies to operate in these areas, which are anticipated to hold rich hydrocarbon reserves.
However, the majority of these parcels clash with the EEZ declared by the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), with the Greek Cypriot administration ignoring the fundamental rights of the TRNC to a share of the island’s resources.
In response to Cyprus' unilateral drilling, Türkiye and Libya's United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts in 2019 – one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The maritime pact asserted Turkey's rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, while also defending the rights of the TRNC to resources in the area. The pact took effect on Dec. 8.
