A consortium of ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy has signed an exploration and production sharing contract (EPSC) with the government of Cyprus for Block 5 located offshore, southwest of the island nation.
QatarEnergy along with ExxonMobil already holds one exploration block in Cyprus – Block 10 – and this will be the consortium's second exploration block in the country.
Block 10 was fruitful for the duo. It was awarded in 2017 and resulted in the Glaucus gas discovery announced in February 2019 with estimated in-place resources of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas. QatarEnergy claimed that further assessments are planned over the coming months to further refine this estimate.
The Qatari company said that, under the terms of the EPSC, QatarEnergy will hold a 40 percent working interest in Block 5 while ExxonMobil will be the operator and will hold a 60 percent working interest.
Natasa Pilides, Cyprus Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, signed the EPSC with the representatives of ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy.
Block 5 covers an area of 1,740 square miles in water depths of up to 8,200 feet and is adjacent to Block 10.
“We are pleased with the signing of this EPSC, which expands our footprint in Cyprus. As confirmed by our discovery in Block 10, this region is promising and has very good potential for hydrocarbon exploration,” Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said.
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the government of Cyprus and with our long-term strategic partner ExxonMobil to contribute to the exploration of natural resources in the Republic of Cyprus, and bring a significant addition to our growing international portfolio,” he added.
QatarEnergy was until recently known as Qatar Petroleum but has decided to change its name to reflect its new strategy focused on the energy transition.
To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com
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