Exploration on hold

This article was written in May for the June edition of Executive Magazine. The third well drilled in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) failed to reveal commercially exploitable natural gas reserves. Italian multinational Eni’s Saipem 1000 drillship drilled to a depth of 5,485 meters in Amathusa, in Block 9, without yielding positive results. This is the second failed attempt by the Eni-KOGAS consortium in Cyprus’ EEZ. The consortium is hoping to get similar treatment to that given to Total, and submitted a request to extend its exploration license. As it stands today, the license expires in February 2016, with the consortium negotiating with Nicosia for a two year extension. Eni reportedly plans to use this period to form a more precise picture of the previously unexplored area and reevaluate the geological model and data collected in both drills. With Total and Eni’s failure to locate commercially exploitable quantities of natural gas,