Exploratory licence expected soon for Block 7

Talks between Total and Eni and the government to explore Block 7 of Cyprus’ EEZ are at an advanced stage and the announcement of an agreement is only a matter of time a government source told state broadcaster CyBC, it announced on Sunday.

According to the same source the results seen in the Calypso are expected to be similar to those in block 7 and the energy giant has asked for rights to the whole field.

Meanwhile, according to the CyBC a study carried out in Texas points to further large finds expected in the Cyprus EEZ.

In October the government asked for interest in Block 7 from companies already working in neighbouring plots.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said at the time that this option had been chosen instead of launching another licensing round because “there are particular geological reasons related to the Calypso discovery.”

The Calypso field is located in block 6 where Italy’s ENI carried out an exploratory drill early this year and is believed to hold between six and eight trillion cubic feet.

In February ExxonMobil announced a gas find estimated between 5-8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in an offshore field inside the island’s exclusive economic zone.

The discovery was made in the Glafcos (Glaucus) 1 well in Block 10 of the EEZ.