ENI/KOGAS drill ship arrives in Cyprus EEZ

Drill ship Saipem 10000 of the ENI/KOGAS consortium arrived yesterday, at 16.32 (local time) to the point where it will make an exploratory drilling at "Onasagoras" gas field of Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) block “9” .

“Saipem drill ship at Point Zero in Cyprus EEZ. So far all according to plan. Results in ~80 days” wrote Minister of Energy Giorgos Lakkotrypis at his personal twitter account.

Speaking to CNA President of Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company Toula Onoufriou, said that the drilling will begin very soon.

As she said, the ENI / KOGAS consortium has planned a series of exploratory drillings over the next 18 months. She noted that these drillings will determine the sector`s development in Cyprus.

“Through this program that has been accelerated, we expect to have sooner, more concrete results, which will allow us to have a clearer picture of the data, to take important decisions on the exploitation and the future of this industry in our country”, said Onoufriou.

The drilling on the block "9" will be the first of the drillings included in the program of the ENI-KOGAS consortium to blocks “2”, “3”, and “9” of the Cyprus EEZ.

According to Onoufriou, a drilling in such depth is expected to take about 80 days to be completed. After that, she added, the consortium will process the data and then there will be a clearer picture of the results of the drilling.