Filenews 22 December 2021
Conversely, they are now counting in the Ministry of Energy since the Stena Forth drilling rig got to work on the confirmatory drilling at "Glafkos-2". The next two months are crucial as the result of the confirmatory drilling will determine the future of the energy program of the Republic of Cyprus. The results of the drilling are expected to be known by March.
Yesterday the Ministry of Energy announced the commencement of drilling in block 10 of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus. According to the announcement of the Ministry of Energy "the works of the "Glaucus-2" evaluation drilling in Block 10 of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus have begun by the consortium ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited and Qatar Petroleum International Upstream LLC, which holds a Hydrocarbon Exploration License for the said Plot". The announcement states that "the drilling operations carried out by the ship – drilling rig "Stena Forth", will be monitored on an ongoing basis by the personnel of the Hydrocarbons Service, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry".
The Minister of Energy, Natasha Pilidou, in recent statements, had said that the results of the confirmatory drilling at the "Glafkos" deposit by the Exxon Mobil – Qatar Petroleum consortium should not be expected before February or March 2022, stressing that the drilling will proceed unhindered and any Turkish challenges will be addressed through diplomacy.
Regarding the "Glafkos" deposit in block 10, in which the exploratory drilling highlighted an initial amount of natural gas between 5 and 8 trillion feet (tcf), Ms. Pilidou said that "certainly before February to March 2022 we do not expect results in terms of quantities", adding that the process will take two to three months.
Regarding the plans for the exploitation of the deposit, Ms. Pilidou said that "certainly depending on the quantity there are several scenarios on the table, which will be examined", with the scenario to a terminal in Egypt being "considered the most prevalent, based on the quantities that have been identified so far and that are expected based on the initial estimates".
In her statements, Ms. Pilidou had mentioned that the ENI/TOTAL consortium is expected to proceed with research activities in the first half of 2022, while at the beginning of next year, suggestions are expected from the licensees of "Aphrodite" for possible synergies with Israel or Egypt in relation to the development of the deposit.
