Appraisal drilling has begun at the Glaucus-2 site in offshore block 10 of the island’s exclusive economic zone, the ministry of energy said Tuesday.

The exploration licence is held by the consortium of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited, and Qatar Petroleum International Upstream LLC.

Work at the site is being carried out by the Stena Forth drill ship.

In February 2019 ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum announced a discovery following the drilling of the Glaucus-1 well, with an estimated 5-8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The current appraisal, or follow-up, drilling will give a clearer picture of the reservoir’s resource potential.

Exxon’s drilling programme in block 10, which could include more exploratory drilling in 2022, will be conducted in an area neither claimed by Turkey nor licensed by the Turkish Cypriots.