Filenews 14 January 2022
The "Glafkos-2" evaluation drilling is proceeding smoothly, in block 10 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, as noted by the Minister of Energy, Natasha Pilidou, during her visit to the ship – drilling rig "Stena Forth". Drilling is expected to be completed in March.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Energy, the Minister received an on-the-spot briefing during a visit to the drilling rig along with the U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, Judith Garber, the Deputy Government Spokesperson, Niovi Parisinou, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Marios Panagidis and the CEO of ExxonMobil Cyprus, Varnava Theodosiou.
"In the context of our excellent cooperation with the consortium of ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy, we have the opportunity today to visit the drilling rig that conducts the drilling ́Glafkos-2'," Ms. Pilidou said in a statement at the departure of the mission. He explained that the drilling is done in the context of the evaluation of the 'Glafkos' deposit, which through the initial drilling it emerged that it has high quality hydrocarbons estimated at 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet.
"Certainly more work is needed to verify the quantity and extract more data, which is already underway with the drilling that began on December 21 and we expect it to be completed in March 2022," he added.
He also said that work is progressing smoothly, which gives them great satisfaction. He also spoke of excellent cooperation between the state agencies and the consortium, so that any challenges due to the pandemic or arising from this work have been overcome so far, without any problem.
On behalf of ExxonMobil, Mr Theodosiou said that the work began just before Christmas and is due to be completed in March.
"After completion we will evaluate the data we will collect, a task that will take a number of months, to be able to draw more secure conclusions regarding the quantity and quality of the gas in the 'Glafkos' deposit," he said.
In her statements, the U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, after thanking ExxonMobil and the Minister for the opportunity to visit the drilling rig, stressed that the U.S. has always supported the development of the underwater hydrocarbon reserves discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"We believe that they have the potential to bring huge benefits to all Cypriots, but also to promote greater co-operation and prosperity in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean," he said.
He added that they are working together with Cyprus and the EU on the transition to a fossil-free energy future and these hydrocarbon discoveries will be very important for this transition to greener and cleaner energy. Finally, he said that they are very proud that ExxonMobil is part of the consortium that develops these extremely important resources.
