Cyprus discovers significant gas in the sea

Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni announced on Monday that it has made a significant gas discovery in the Cronos-1 well, located about 160 kilometres off the coast of Cyprus in block 6.

Block 6 is operated by Eni Cyprus holding 50 per cent stake, with TotalEnergies as a partner.

Preliminary estimates indicate about 2.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in place, with significant additional upside that will be investigated by a further exploration well in the area.

The Cronos-1 well is the fourth exploration well drilled by Eni Cyprus and the second in Block 6, following the Calypso-1 gas discovery in 2018.

“The discovery of Cronos-1 creates the conditions to lead to the development of further potential volumes of gas in the region and represents one of the actions achieved by Eni in support of the supply of additional gas to Europe,” Eni said in a statement.

Eni has been operating in Cyprus since 2013. The company operates blocks 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9, and holds stakes in blocks 7 and 11 operated by TotalEnergies.

In a separate statement on Monday, TotalEnergies also said that the drilling of another exploration well on Block 6 has been planned.

“This successful exploration well at Cronos-1 is another illustration of the impact of our exploration strategy which is focused on discovering resources with low technical cost and low carbon emissions,” said Kevin McLachlan, senior vice president, exploration at TotalEnergies.

Last month, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides met with Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi in Rome and discussed energy-related issues.

Following the meeting, the foreign ministry said on Twitter that Kasoulides and Descalzi discussed energy-related issues with an emphasis on close cooperation with Eni and its ongoing activities in the Cyprus EEZ.

The island’s energy ministry back in May said the Tungsten Explorer drillship had started drilling work on the ‘Cronos-1’ prospect.

Following the meeting between Kasoulides and Descalzi, Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said that “activity in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has been very positive lately, with works worth $200 million completed since the start of the pandemic.”

Pilides added that drilling in Block 6 was progressing at a satisfactory pace, also expressing the hope that there would be positive results.

She also mentioned the positive prospects identified by confirmatory drilling in Block 10, adding that seismological studies were being carried out in Blocks 10 and 5 to determine the exact quantities.

Cyprus Mail