The ExxonMobil-Qatar Energy consortium is planning on drilling two more wells in Cyprus’ offshore Blocks 5 and 10 early next year, according to ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill, who met with President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday in Nicosia, in the presence of Energy Minister, George Papanastasiou.

Papanastasiou expressed the hope that the deposit in Block 5 would open “new horizons”.

In his statements to journalists after the meeting at the Presidential Palace, Ardill said that they briefed President Christodoulides on Exxon Mobil’s investment activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, “and more importantly, Cyprus”. “We look forward to drilling two more wells early in the New Year on Block 5 Block and 10, looking for new gas resources to support rapid development for both onshore, domestic gas supply and potentially LNG”, he added.

To a journalist’s comment that the President said that a plan was forthcoming on “Glafcus” gas field  - located in Block 10 - and asked whether part of that plan involved pipelines shipping gas to Egypt or anywhere else and what quantities that concerned, Ardill said they talked about the drilling plans “which are the first steps to understand what resources are there, and then once we know that, which will be around mid-2025, then we’ll be in a good position to consider different development options and different offtake.”

In his own statements, Papanastasiou, noted that the President was briefed by representatives of ExxonMobil on the next steps regarding the drilling programme. He clarified that this was a consortium in which Qatar Energy also participates and ExxonMobil is the managing company.

The drilling programme, he noted, concerns two milestones: the first is mid-January, when the first drilling will be carried out in Block 5 and concerns the “Electra” drilling and a second drilling, which will be next to the “Glaucus” and concerns the “Pegasus”, “which will be a separate drilling independent of the “Glaucus”.

Depending on the findings of the first drilling in Block 5, the company will decide how to open horizons, “different than the usual ones”.

Regarding “Pegasus”, he said, “it is a drilling that is very related to how “Glaucus” will be developed. If this is also successful, then the effort will be to connect “Glaucus” and “Pegasus” in some way with infrastructure so that both can be developed in parallel, “and it is understood that they are also in consultation with ENI, because all these deposits, namely “Cronos”, (gas field) possibly “Pegasus” and the existing “Glaucus” can be developed in parallel and together through some synergies.”

Asked what synergies he was referring to, given that the President of the Republic had referred to synergies with companies from the Gulf, Papanastasiou clarified that the synergies he mentioned concern existing deposits. “The interest the President referred to is from completely independent companies for a possible new round of licensing,” said the Minister.

Asked what he meant by “new horizons” being opened, the Minister said that depending on the findings after the two drillings, if the quantities are satisfactory, it would mean that things would change, in that the deposit could be developed, there could be liquefaction on the deposit or there may also be something onshore in Cyprus.

Negotiations for the destination of FSRU “Prometheas”

Asked if there was anything new on the issue of the FSRU “Prometheas” and when it would finally arrive in Cyprus, the Minister said that “it is stipulated that Prometheas will sail from Shanghai in early December and will go to a destination that is suitable for certification but also for the use of Prometheas until we need it in Vasiliko (where Cyprus’ LNG Terminal is being constructed)”.

Asked if the destination has been found, Papanastasiou said that negotiations were underway, “even as we speak”.