The drilling of an appraisal well in the offshore Aphrodite natural gas field was successfully completed last week, Cyprus’ Energy Minister, Giorgos Papanastasiou, said on Monday, noting that it seems there might be positive news.

In response to journalists' questions, on the sidelines of an event on energy matters, Papanastasiou said that the drilling of the A3 appraisal well was completed on July 13 and there were some initial, but unofficial, remarks.

He added that the appraisal well was this time drilled in the centre of the gas deposit to confirm the quantities and quality of natural gas, after two previous appraisal drillings, one to the east and the other to the west.  The Minister said that there might be something newer, which will be evaluated, as regards the quality of the natural gas, “but it seems that it’s positive news”.

Regarding the drilling, he said that while it was a confirmatory one, it was carried out at a depth which, with little intervention, could also be considered a development drilling. 

He said that the results of the appraisal drilling were expected by the end of August, while at the same time his Ministry was considering, by the end of the same month, to send a response to the managing company, Chevron, for the gas reserve's revised development plan that it sent about a month and a half ago.

Asked about the cooperation of the Republic of Cyprus with countries in the region, the Minister said that an agreement was reached yesterday on the members of the two technical committees, as per the agreement about a month ago, between the Ministers of Energy (of Cyprus and Israel) on setting up two committees, one on natural gas and hydrogen, the other for the electrical interconnection of the two countries. He said these committees are to begin their work around the end of this month.