ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy discover new natural gas field off the coast of Cyprus

(Patria) - A consortium comprising ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Energy International has discovered a second natural gas field beneath the seabed south of Cyprus, the government announced on Monday.

New natural gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean could help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons by diversifying energy supplies. They could also help strengthen the energy partnership between Cyprus, Greece and Israel, said John Sitilides, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and geopolitical strategist at Trilogy Advisors in Washington.

“Washington and Brussels would be wise to support this hydrocarbon network to develop a greater measure of critical energy independence for Europe’s nascent re-industrialization,” Sitilides said.

Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a written statement that ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill informed Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides about the discovery at the Pegasus-1 well during a teleconference. The well was discovered about 190 kilometers southwest of Cyprus at a depth of 1,921 meters. No estimates of the gas quantities were given. Further assessments will be carried out in the coming months, AP reported.

The ExxonMobil-Qatar Energy consortium holds exploration licenses for two areas, or blocks, within Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone. The consortium discovered the Glaucus-1 well in 2019 within the same Block 10 where the Pegasus-1 well is located. Cypriot authorities say Glaucus-1 is estimated to contain 3.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

In total, Pegasus-1 is the sixth natural gas field discovered within Cyprus’s economic zone in the past fourteen years. Other fields include the Zeus, Cronos and Calypso wells, located within Block 6 operated by a consortium comprising Italy’s Eni and France’s Total. Cronos is estimated to contain 3.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, and Zeus 2.5 trillion cubic feet. Calypso is still being assessed.

The Eni-Total consortium holds exploration licenses for four blocks. The earliest discovered field, Aphrodite, is estimated to contain 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. The field is located within Block 12, operated by a consortium comprising Chevron, NewMed Energy and Shell.

Agreements with Egypt stipulate that gas from the Cronos and Aphrodite fields will be sent to Egypt via pipeline for domestic use or for processing at Egyptian facilities for export to Europe and elsewhere.

Cypriot Energy Minister George Panastasiou said ExxonMobil, Eni and Total could join forces to jointly develop their gas fields located in close proximity to each other.