European majors Eni and TotalEnergies announced on Monday a significant gas discovery offshore Cyprus, just as Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian gas supplies.
Eni, as operator of Block 6 offshore Cyprus, and its partner TotalEnergies encountered in the Cronos-1 well, an important gas column in a carbonate reservoir sequence of fair to excellent properties, the Italian energy firm said.
Preliminary estimates indicate there are about 2.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in place, "with significant additional upside that will be investigated by a further exploration well in the area," Eni added.
The gas discovery at the Cronos-1 well can unlock additional potential in the area and is part of Eni's successful effort to provide further gas supply to Europe, the group noted.
The Cronos-1 well is the fourth exploration well drilled by Eni Cyprus and the second well in Block 6, following the gas discovery of Calypso-1 in 2018.
"This successful exploration well at Cronos-1 is another illustration of the impact of our Exploration strategy which is focused on discovering resources with low technical cost and low carbon emissions, to contribute to energy security including to provide an additional sources of gas supply to Europe," said Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President, Exploration, at TotalEnergies.
The Eastern Mediterranean is expected to be one of the interesting spots for high-impact oil and gas drilling activity this year, analysts said earlier this month.
The development of gas supply in close proximity to Europe could help the EU reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline deliveries this decade. Russian supply to major European economies, including Germany and Italy, has been significantly reduced since the start of the summer. Russian giant Gazprom says Western sanctions against Russia prevent it from receiving and installing a gas turbine at a compressor station along Nord Stream, the key gas route from Russia to Germany.
Last week, Gazprom said it would stop all gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream from August 31 until September 2 due to maintenance work at the Trent 60 gas compressor station, which would be carried out with Siemens.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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