LNG giant QatarEnergy and US player ExxonMobil are joining forces on a new block offshore Cyprus, located southwest of the island.
In that regard, a consortium comprising of units of the two firms signed an exploration and production sharing contract with Cyprus for the offshore Block 5, according to a statement by QatarEnergy.
Under the terms of the deal, QatarEnergy will hold a 40 percent working interest in Block 5 while ExxonMobil will hold a 60 percent working interest and operate the block.
This is QatarEnergy’s second exploration block in Cyprus, in addition to Block 10.
The same consortium won this block in 2017 and the deal resulted in the “Glaucus” gas discovery revealed in February 2019 with estimated in-place resources of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.
QatarEnergy said the duo plans further assessments over the coming months to further refine this estimate.
Block 5 covers an area of 4,500 km2 in water depths of up to 2,500 meters, and is adjacent to Block 10.
“As confirmed by our discovery in Block 10, this region is promising and has very good potential for hydrocarbon exploration,” Qatar’s energy minister and chief executive of QP, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said.
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the government of Cyprus and with our long-term strategic partner ExxonMobil to contribute to the exploration of natural resources in the Republic of Cyprus, and bring a significant addition to our growing international portfolio,” he said.
