European energy giants Eni of Italy and Total of France have discovered a "promising" gas reservoir 80 kilometers from the south coast of Cyprus, Eni announced last Thursday. The company thereby confirmed reports from a week ago in the Cypriot media and in "Globes".
The size of the reservoir, however, is not yet known. According to earlier reports, it is medium to large by Israeli standards, somewhere between the Karish and Tanin fields and the Tamar field.
The reservoir was discovered in Block 6 Offshore Cyprus with Calypso 1 NFW. The well was drilled in 2,074 meters of water depth, reaching a final total depth of 3,827 meters. "Additional studies will be carried out to assess the range of the gas volumes in place and define further exploration and appraisal operations," Eni said.
Eni's announcement also stated that "Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the 'Zohr like' play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)," referring to the Zohr reservoir in Egyptian waters. Eni developed and connected the Zohr reservoir in record time of two-and-a-half years.
Eni has been present in Cyprus since 2013 and has interests in six licenses located in the EEZ of Cyprus (in Blocks 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11), five of which are operated.
Up to now, only one gas reservoir, Aphrodite, has been discovered in Cypriot waters. Aphrodite is owned by Israeli company Delek Drilling, Noble Energy, and Shell. The reservoir, which contains 120 BCM of natural gas, was discovered in 2010, and has yet to be developed. Development is meant to be carried out together with stage B of the development of the Leviathan reservoir in Israeli waters, which is only 30 kilometers from Aphrodite, in order to reduce costs and use only one drilling platform.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 11, 2018
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