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ExxonMobil announces a discovery of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet in Cyprus’ EEZ

28/02/2019 16:35

Energy giant ExxonMobil and Cyprus government announced Thursday a discovery of a natural gas resource of approximately 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet in Cyprus’ offshore block 10, at the Glaucus-1 well.

As Minister of Energy of Cyprus said in a press conference in Nicosia, the resource was the largest discovery so far discovered in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and according to official data one of the greatest discoveries in the world in recent years. “The results”, he added, “demonstrate the potential of our EEZ because it is a high-quality  reservoir”.

Speaking at the same press conference ExxonMobil’s Vice-President for Europe, Russia, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East, Tristan Asprey said he was very encouraged by the discovery and added that in the coming months, there would be an appraisal drilling, in order to determine the full potential of the field.

According to an announcement by ExxonMobil, 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”, says the announcement.

“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.