8-9 trillion cubic feet in Cyprus EEZ’s Pegasus, Glaucus blocks

Cyprus has found “sizeable quantities” of natural gas in blocks Pegasus and Glaucus, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou told the Cyprus Mail on Friday, following an earlier announcement by the president in New York that between 8 and 9 trillion cubic feet had been discovered.

“You have to compare the quantities announced on Thursday with previous ones that are already being commercialised,” Papanastasiou said.

He explained that the quantities of natural gas found in Aphrodite – about 4 trillion cubic feet – were considered to be large at the time, however compared to Israel’s Leviathan these quantities are “quite small”.

“It cannot be said that Pegasus and Glaucus are large, because this is a very subjective term. It is a sizeable quantity,” he added.

That said, Kronos with 3 trillion cubic feet is already being commercialised, so one can expect more from Pegasus and Glaucus, which are “even more viable”, the minister said.

“The more quantities found in an EEZ, the more likely it is to commercialise the discoveries,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

On Thursday night, ExxonMobil officials told President Nikos Christodoulides during a meeting in New York that the blocks may contain as much as 8-9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Papanastasiou said the government was in consultations with ExxonMobil and awaiting “the development and production plan, which we, as the Republic of Cyprus, must approve”.

“At the moment, they are making their operational considerations,” the minister added.

He clarified that the amount of 8-9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was “gas in place”, meaning it exists in the deposit.

Papanastasiou told the Cyprus News Agency that “we have already begun” with the Kronos and Aphrodite deposits, which are going to Egypt – one for liquification and the other to Egypt’s terminal.

The minister also said Chevron has made headway in Aphrodite, while Eni and TotalEnergies were working on Kronos, seeing whether it can be connected by a submerged pipeline to Zor.

“Everything is happening rapidly and we are monitoring the situation on a weekly basis,” Papanastasiou added.

Meanwhile, Diko president Nicholas Papadopoulos said that, if confirmed, the new deposits would be a development of paramount importance.

“It will be the largest deposit ever found, even larger than Aphrodite, which will further upgrade the position of the Republic of Cyprus on the energy map of the eastern Mediterranean,” Papadopoulos said.

He added that “this new prospect constitutes a huge national opportunity.”

On the sidelines of the UN general assembly, Christodoulides met a delegation from ExxonMobil headed by Vice President John Ardill, who outlined the latest figures.

He stressed that the Cyprus government attaches great importance to ExxonMobil’s presence in its EEZ, adding that “our cooperation is excellent and always based on honesty. I look forward to the assessment of the results for Pegasus, as well as for Block 10.”

Ardill emphasised that progress had been achieved and highlighted the success of the surveys at Pegasus.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis “it was a very important meeting”.

Commenting on the figure presented by Ardill during the meeting, he said “these are very positive developments, very positive messages from ExxonMobil”.

Letymbiotis said Christodoulides also outlined the government’s wish for the acceleration of the extraction as soon as possible to utilise the natural wealth of the Cyprus EEZ, with the primary goal being a positive impact on energy costs for Cypriot consumers.

“This is positive news, we remain committed to the implementation of the energy planning, and the companies active in the Cyprus EEZ – ExxonMobil being among the main ones – are global giants, whose presence constitutes a vote of confidence in the Cyprus EEZ,” he said.

Asked whether the company explained how it would proceed with using these quantities, Letymbiotis said “a very specific discussion took place. In the immediate period ahead further very concrete actions are expected to take place from the company with timetables that will be set regarding the implementation of the necessary steps to exploit the natural gas.

“This is one of the goals that have been set – and I will repeat, because the President has been explicit on many occasions – that this energy planning will be implemented on the basis of the agreed timetables,” he concluded.