Cyprus Natural Gas Reserves Licensed Blocks At 40 tcf

(Photo credit: Denis' Life)

Natural gas reserves in the six licensed blocks of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone may reach 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf), Cyprus Hydrocarbons’ State Company (KRETYK) Chairman Charles Ellinas said, while noting that with the necessary infrastructure, Cyprus could start exporting 2 tcf of liquefied natural gas annually by 2020. While addressing the 2nd Energy Forum, in Nicosia, Ellinas also urged for the quick implementation of a strategy to exploit natural gas reserves, ahead of important developments in the region.

By Gregoris Savva and Antonios Gkildakis
Famagusta Gazette

On January 24, Cyprus signed contracts with the ENI/KOGAS consortium for hydrocarbons exploration in blocks 2, 3 and 9 in the EEZ of Cyprus, while on February 6, it signed hydrocarbon exploration contacts with French TOTAL for blocks 10 and 11.

In 2008 Cyprus signed its first hydrocarbon exploration contract with US Noble Energy for offshore block 12. Exploratory drilling conducted by Noble in late 2011 revealed an estimated gross mean resources of 7 tcf.

According to Ellinas, ENI/KOGAS and TOTAL will soon be conducting exploratory drills in their respective licensed blocks, worth around 2 bln dollars. Concerning block 9, KRETYK Chairman said that all indications point to a bigger reserve than that of block 12, with Ellinas saying that it may even be double. He added that a United States Geological Survey assessment showed that the Levantine basin may contain up to 122 tcf of natural gas, with Cyprus claiming 60 tcf from the share.

Concerning block 12, Ellinas said that Noble estimates a second reserve of more than 7 tcf of natural gas. He added that according to schedule, natural gas will reach Cyprus’ shores in 2018 and LNG exports will start a year later, in 2019.

On the overall planning, Ellinas said that “we wasted precious time” and urged for accelerating the infrastructure development.

Speaking about the potential transfer of Cyprus’ natural gas to Europe through the Nabucco pipeline in Turkey, the Chairman of KRETYK said the option was not profitable, since a single pipeline to mainland Turkey would not suffice for Cypriot reserves. He also pointed out that Turkey could be the “new Ukraine” in case it was chosen as a transit country.