Filenews 21 November 2021
The first step for the conduct of the confirmatory drilling at the Glaucus deposit in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone by the US oil giant EXXON MOBIL was taken, against the escalating Turkish reactions. According to NAVTEX issued by Larnaka Station, from November 19 to January 30 "preparatory works and drilling works" will be carried out in the area defined by the coordinates at the location of the large Glaucus deposit that the American company had identified in 2019.
According to NAVTEX, the region has been committed for the period until January 30. In Plot 10 of the Cyprus EEZ, the joint venture of EXXON MOBIL with Qatar Petroleum is active. The first exploratory drilling highlighted an initial amount of natural gas between 5 and 8 trillion feet (tcf). The vice president of the US giant, who had a meeting in Nicosia with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Christodoulides, in recent days, expressed the hope that the confirmatory drilling will confirm a maximum amount of gas.
The initial estimates for "Glaucus" referred to the largest deposit that had been found in the Cypriot EEZ. The aim at this stage is to have an accurate picture of the size and quality of the deposit. The exploratory drilling starts late due to the pandemic, and is expected to last until the second ten days of January. Results are not expected before Spring 2022.
Energy Minister Natasha Pilidou has indicated in recent days that depending on the amount of natural gas that will be detected, there are several scenarios on the table, which will be examined, with the scenario to a terminal in Egypt being considered the prevailing one.
However, in relation to the Turkish provocations and the warnings of new obstacles to the drilling program of the Republic of Cyprus, it is not expected that with the commencement of works on plot 10 there will be a reaction on the part of Turkey, on the one hand due to the fact that the licensed consortium consists of an American giant and the Qatari state-owned hydrocarbons company and on the other hand because this area is not included in the areas that under the "Blue Blue" Homeland", the Turks consider part of the Turkish continental shelf.
Nautical Geo continues its research
Moreover, a new directive to seafarers was issued last Thursday evening (18/11), regarding the investigations of the French vessel Nautical Geo between Crete and the Peloponnese.
Turkey has ordered that France's research vessel be constantly monitored, with its neighbour's warships permanently having it on their radar. According to the new NAVTEX, the French research will move from the eastern end of Crete to the Myrtoan Sea, approximately off Monemvasia.
The moves in Cyprus and Greece are underway at a time when the Turkish President, under the pressure of criticism, is raising the tone when it comes to energy issues. The purchase of a fourth new generation drilling rig, which was given the name "Alparslan" and will be delivered in the first quarter of 2022, has been announced. The drilling rig was presented as capable of "drilling" up to 12,200 meters. It has a crew of 200 people, it can remain stable even in a wave 7.3 meters high, it has a length of 238 meters, a width of 41.7 meters and a depth of 18.9 meters. The ship's two towers 65 meters high have a lifting capacity of 1,750 tons.
Diplomacy from Athens
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, following up on the quadripartite, went with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri to Bahrain to participate in the annual "Manama Dialogue" forum. "Exemplary relations between Greece and Egypt and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa are in the spotlight," he wrote in a Twitter post, quoting photos of him, along with the Egyptian foreign minister, through the plane. During his stay in Bahrain, the Greek Foreign Minister will hold a series of bilateral meetings with high-level Bahrain officials.
On the sidelines of the Forum, Nikos Dendias has scheduled meetings with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and then with Israel's National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata. As well as Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and then with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.
