Eni, Total in large gas discovery offshore Cyprus
Eni and Total have reportedly made what is believed to be a large gas discovery at their Calypso prospect in the Block 6, offshore Cyprus.
News reports have cited Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis saying on the 2nd February that there were ‘encouraging signs’ at the project, however he refused to give more details on the quantity.
“The findings are encouraging. A reserve has been located but the morphology of the particular target is complicated so we need more time…I won’t talk about quantities or anything else,” he said.
According to IBNA, Mr Lakkotrypis said that the two companies would soon come out with their official announcements regarding the Calypso results..
He reportedly said the geology at the project was similar to that of Zohr, a giant gas field found by Eni offshore Egypt a few years ago.
While one waits for Eni and Total to make their announcements on the Calypso size, Israel’s news website Globes has reported that Calypso might hold 170-230 BCM of gas.
If proven true, Globes opines, the discovery in Cyprus could make life tough for the companies developing the Leviathan field offshore Israel.
Globes feels that energy giants such as Total and Eni, with enough cash for development a proven track record of bringing their gas discoveries to production fast, might make Cyprus an important gas player in the region, and a competitor to Israel.
The newspapers stressed the fact that Eni has managed to bring the giant Zohr field online in a little more than two years since the discovery, while on the other side, Israel’s Leviathan, found in 2010, is expected to start production in 2020.