* ENI hopes to drill in Cyprus EEZ before the end of 2017 *
We believe that there could be another Zohr in the region, Luca Bertelli, Chief Exploration Officer of ENI SpA told participants of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference, in Nicosia, on Tuesday, adding that prospects similar to the colossal Egyptian gasfield are believed to be contained in the EEZ of Cyprus.
“We believe that there could be another Zohr in the region,” he pointed out.
“More of Zohr alike prospects are believed to be contained in the EEZ of Cyprus,” he added, according to the Cyprus News Agency.
Referring to the East Mediterranean, Bertelli said it is important because of the size of the discoveries after Tamar, Leviathan, Aphrodite and Zohr in Egyptian waters.
These four fields contain 75 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. This makes the East Mediterranean an emerging gas province, he pointed out.
He also noted that the target for Zohr is to bring it to production by the end 2017 which is an astonishing short time for the market.
We need to secure additional volume before an export route to Europe, he added, noting that an LNG plant in Cyprus would be a possibility in case of new massive discoveries.
Panos Kelamis, CEO of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company said referring to potential opportunities within Cyprus’ EEZ that optimism can be derived from the data themselves and not just the presence of companies.
According to Kelamis exporting to Egypt is the first priority of the Republic due to demand growth. We are working on ways that Aphrodite will go to Cyprus and Idku and Damietta, he added, noting that a potential scenario of future discoveries will lead us to a hub and an energy plant in Vasilikos.
On his part Aviv Kishenbaum, Project Director, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration said referring to the commercialisation of the Aphrodite reserve that they are shaping the development plan in discussion with the government in order to have an agreed development, hopefully soon.
In parallel, he added, we are progressing the discussion with potential buyers trying to find synergies. He expressed optimism over using the existing LNG facilities in Egypt.
Addressing the conference in the afternoon session Matteo Restelli, Development Director of IGI Poseidon SA said that the EastMed pipeline is technically feasible, economically sustainable and commercially competitive compared with the other export sources in the region.
A direct export route to EU within the EU border would entail a reduced risk profile both from the producer and consumer perspectives, he added.
The pipeline would take 4 years to be constructed which according to Restelli would be in line with the production capacity of the region. Replying to a question on the cost of the project he said that the construction of the pipeline is estimated to be around EUR 5 billion.
Libor Krkoska, Head of the Cyprus Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said during a panel discussion that his bank invests EUR 9 billion per year and that a significant portion goes to the financing of gas and oil projects.
Referring to Cyprus, he pointed out that the bank operates an office in the country since 2014 and that last year Cyprus was the third more active country for EBRD. The bank will hold its Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Cyprus on May 9, he noted, adding that this is the first event EBRD organises in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier in the day, Bertelli expressed the hope that his company will start drilling by the end of the year and appeared optimistic that discoveries similar to Zohr will be made in the blocks within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
The discovery of Zohr has attracted new interest in the exploration also in Cyprus’ offshore and the recent round that has been launched attracted new companies in Cyprus, he said.
This is good, he added, “because we have more competition; When you see more companies coming in, maybe there is something to look for.”
“We are confident that we may make some other discoveries similar to Zhor,” he noted.
Asked to estimate the size of the discovery, he said that it is difficult to make estimations before drilling. According to the ENI official “the most important point is to start drilling again.”
Asked if ENI has set the dates for drilling, he said that “we don’t have exact schedule days but our effort is to start as soon as we can.”
“It will require some time depending when the new contract will be signed but we hope to start drilling before the year end,” he noted.
