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Revival of interest for Cypriot EEZ

08/09/2015 11:33
The Cypriot government expects a revival of interest by companies participating in the search for hydrocarbons in the Cypriot EEZ, following the discovery of the great Egyptian field in Zor area, which is adjacent to the marine mount Eratosthenes.

According to information leaked mainly from the energy ministry it is a matter of time before there is intense drilling activity by hydrocarbon companies, particularly companies such as Total, the interest of which seems to be rekindled as its geological investigations were conducted on plots 10 and 11 which are adjacent to the Egyptian deposit.

Last January information said that Total would abandon its investigations in these fields because of low expectations by the disappointing geological surveys. The French company announced a few days later that it will not abandon its investigations in the Cypriot EEZ.

The conditions prevailing today seem to create great prospects for the upgrading of the geological potential of the area and it is within this framework that the meeting between the energy minister George Lakkotrypis with his counterpart in Egypt will take place in the coming days.

Government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said last Saturday in a response to the opposition’s criticism in relation to the government’s planning in the field of energy that plans have not changed. He called on political parties to be patient and said that they will be proved wrong by the events.

The revival of interest in the EEZ may complicate talks on the Cyprus problem, as it happened in 2014, when Turkey reacted to the drilling of ENI-Kogas by sending the seismographic vessel Barbaros.

The deputy director of the hydrocarbon service of the energy ministry Stelios Nicolaides expressed the view that today we are facing a large deposit of limestone which opens up great prospects for fields of the Cypriot EEZ which are adjacent to the Zor area.

Mr. Nikolaides, who spoke on state television, described the fact that hydrocarbon reserves are found in carbonate rocks as a great geological discovery.

He noted that seismic studies have demonstrated the existence of large reserves of hydrocarbons and stressed that there are hydrocarbons also "in our region around the marine mount Eratosthenes".

He estimated that the companies concerned will focus on this area as Eratosthenes is adjacent to the Egyptian deposit.

Referring to a failed attempt by another company in the Egyptian deposit in 2005, Mr. Nicolaides explained that each company uses its own geological model.

The Italian company ENI announced the discovery of the huge Egyptian deposit in Zor area on August 30th through its official website. Based on preliminary seismic surveys it is estimated that the deposit has 30 trillion cubic meters of gas equivalent to 5.5 bn barrels.

The Italian company enjoys the exclusive exploitation of Zor deposit.

The discovery of the Egyptian deposit caused great concern in Nicosia as Egypt, before the discovery of ENI, was considered one of the main clients for the Cypriot Aphrodite deposit.

Cairo seems to have assured the government of Cyprus that the cooperation agreement between the two countries on energy issues will not change, regardless of new developments.

On September 28 a meeting between President Anastasiades and his Egyptian counterpart has been scheduled in the sidelines of the UN General Meeting.

Government spokesman stressed that Cyprus Republic has a specific planning, is moving according to plan and according to a very specific program.