US giant ExxonMobil with Qatar Petroleum (QP) on Wednesday signed a license to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus, and they expect to start drilling next year.
The venture was selected as part of the island’s third licensing round to explore block 10.
Cyprus Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis described as “immense” the firms’ presence in his country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and, for the first time, in the eastern Mediterranean.
“One of our primary goals during the third licensing round was to advance the exploration of our EEZ” aimed at discovering hydrocarbon reserves, he said at the signing ceremony. “This is precisely what we have achieved.”
The minister said a total of 12 exploration wells would be drilled in the newly licensed blocks: 6, 8 and 10.
Exploration and production sharing contracts are to be signed on Thursday by Italy’s ENI and France’s Total for block 6, and by ENI for block 8.
Cyprus would receive a total of €103.5 million ($110.5 million) in signature bonuses from the contracts, said Lakkotrypis.
ExxonMobil and QP said they had begun planning for drilling operations and intend to drill the first exploration well in 2018.
“We look forward to working with the government of Cyprus to evaluate and realize the country’s hydrocarbon potential,” said Andrew Swiger, senior vice president of ExxonMobil Corporation.
The blocks on offer are close to where ENI made a huge find in Egypt’s offshore “Zohr” field that could hold 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. The field sits adjacent to a Cyprus block licensed to Total.

Source: Arab News