The simultaneous announcement by ENI and Nicosia of the amount of natural gas discovered by a driller in the Kronos-1 facility of Block 6 gives new life to the energy program of the Republic of Cyprus in a special period. 2.5 trillion, etc. that the drilling of the Italian ENI, the management company of the 6th section of the Cyprus EEZ, was noticed was unexpected, but this event created a positive atmosphere. This is because it is the third largest production of the Cyprus EEZ after US ExxonMobil’s claims of 5 to 8 Tcf for the Glaukos target in Block 10 and 4.5 Tcf of the Aphrodite field in Block 12. Quantities identified may change when the results of a confirmation drilling conducted by ExxonMobil in early 2022 at the Glaucos site are also announced. The second element that contributed to the development of a positive climate is that, in addition to the discovery of approximately the same characteristics at the Calypso site in 2018, the discovery of a 260-meter natural gas column in good or excellent condition is added. Taken together, the amount of natural gas discovered in block 6 cannot be characterized as only insignificant, as it is essentially a second field equal to the volume of Aphrodite, without taking into account the currently possible new volumes that may be discovered in the target Zeus-1. “, where new drilling by ENI has already begun.

The ENI-TOTAL consortium has started drilling in the Cyprus EEZ.

The euphoria that followed the official announcements spread beyond Cyprus. In Italy, the impact of the new discovery was indicative, as mainstream Italian media spoke of a large natural gas field in block 6 with the prospect of meeting the energy needs of Italy and Europe. This is a development that the Cypriot government is taking advantage of to secure European protection for its energy program against Turkish challenges in the Cypriot EEZ. As officially announced by the Nicosia Ministry of Energy, the Wolfram Explorer drilling rig has already moved to a new site called Zeus-1 in order to more accurately estimate the amount of natural gas in block 6. Based on the information that existed for planning the initial program of work, it can be concluded that drilling on the Zeus-1 was not planned and was decided by the drilling data on the Kronos-1 target. In Nicosia, even if the current data in terms of quantity does not change, it is believed that the Cyprus EEZ is developing dynamically, which can play an important role in the energy balance of Europe.

Until Monday evening, there were concerns in Nicosia about the announcements to be made at the same time as the ENI announcements. The concern stemmed from the Turkish factor and the possibility of the Turkish drilling rig “Abdul Hamit Khan” moving towards the northern parts of the Cypriot EEZ, which, according to Ankara illegally and defiantly, are located within the Turkish continental shelf. The issue was resolved at a council of ministers held at the summer residence of the President of the Republic in Troodos. The location where 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was discovered is at the southern end of Block 6 and far from illegal Turkish claims. All this in light of the fact that Ankara will not reconsider the scope of its provocative claims, and the assessment that the next target of “Abdul Hamid Khan” will be the Cypriot EEZ and Block 6 will not be confirmed.