President discusses next steps for natural gas deposits in Cyprus EEZ with ExxonMobil

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has discussed the next steps regarding the development and commercialization of the natural gas fields located in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone with Vice President of ExxonMobil, John Ardill.

A written statement by Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, says that during the 5 April meeting, that took place in Houston, Texas, the participants discussed the current and future energy developments in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as the company's strategic presence in the region.

Letymbiotis says that ExxonMobil, in a joint venture with QatarEnergy, holds the exploration and exploitation rights in blocks 5 and 10 of the Cyprus EEZ. In block 10, he adds, the company has already successfully completed two drillings, which confirmed the existence of quantities of natural gas in the "Glafkos" deposit, while in block 5, drilling is already underway on the "Electra" target.

"These discoveries strengthen the role of the Republic of Cyprus as a reliable energy partner in the Eastern Mediterranean and contribute to the joint efforts to implement the strategic objective of energy security and diversification of energy sources of the European Union", the Government Spokesman says.

During the meeting they discussed the next steps in accordance with the company's drilling programme and the energy goals of the Republic of Cyprus, with the common goal of developing and commercializing the deposits of the Cyprus EEZ.

Within this framework, Letymbiotis says, they discussed the possibility of synergies with companies that manage neighboring deposits with the aim of accelerating the commercial development of all deposits.

"President Christodoulides expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation so far with ExxonMobil, the presence of which in Cyprus' EEZ is significant, and reaffirmed the Government's political will to continue and strengthen Cyprus' energy strategy in a manner that serves the national interest and contributes to regional cooperation and stability," the Government Spokesman concludes.

(Sources: CNA, X)