Second round of licensing to be announced next week

 

 

The second round of licensing for hydrocarbon research within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be announced in eight days, commerce minister Praxoula Antoniadou said today.

“We are only eight days away from the official announcement for the second round of licensing”, Antoniadou told the House Commerce Committee.

Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Zeta Emileanidou said that the Ministry was informed by the Cypriot Permanent Representation to the EU that the official announcement for the licensing will be published in the EU gazette on February 13.

Up to twelve blocks in the eastern Mediterranean off southern Cyprus will be included in the round, officials have previously said.

On December 12 last year Houston – based Noble Energy announced that the results from drilling in block 12 of Cyprus’ EEZ, formation logs and initial evaluation work ”indicate an estimated gross resource range(1) of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), with a gross mean of 7 Tcf.” 

President Demetris Christofias said the discovery of hydrocarbons as historic for the island. 

Noble Energy, which did the drilling, discovered 310 feet of net natural gas pay. The drilling into the seabed reached a depth of 19,225 feet at a water depth of about 5,540 feet.