New natural gas field to the goal “Zeus 1” located the drilling rig of the ENI-TotalEnergies consortium in Cyprus EEZ. This deposit is more than his “Saturn 1” discovered by an Italo-French consortium in the same block (site 6) on 22 August.

Preliminary estimates indicate a deposit of 3.5 trillion. cubic feet, which, when added to the Glaukos (5-8 trillion cubic feet), Kronos-1 (2.5 trillion cubic feet) and Aphrodite (4.2 trillion cubic feet) fields, increases the potential the capacity of Cyprus is up to 15.2-18.2 trillion. cubic foot. In 6-8 trillion. cubic feet of gas are the estimated reserves of the field “Calypso”but where the activity has not yet confirmed the purpose.

New opening in Cypriot APH likely to be announced today ENIcreates more favorable conditions for the development of the Kronos 1 field in the same block, as well as the nearby Glaukos, which, under certain conditions, can become the largest field in Cyprus.

The combined potential of these three fields, according to analysts, can provide a throughput capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. participation of Egypt in the project”.

In any case, the new field strengthens the prospects of its area southeastern mediterranean as a new source of natural gas supply for Europe, which will contribute to its energy autonomy. In the same geological basin are probable fields south and southwest of Crete where ExxonMobil is conducting seismic surveys. Geological structures identified in the Ionian and Cretan regions may contain potential reserves of 70-90 trillion. cubic feet of gas, according to EDEFEP, are capable of covering 15-20% of EU consumption.

There is a growing prospect of turning the South-Eastern Mediterranean into a new source of gas supply for Europe.

threats to Turkey

The Zeus-1 target is the fifth successive discovery in the Cyprus EEZ since 2011, when a Noble Energy driller discovered the Aphrodite field in Block 12, just four months after the Saturn-1 discovery. Block 6, where the new field was also located, is one of the points that Turkey has mapped as part of its continental shelf, and five years ago, when it was licensed, it even threatened a casus belli.

The text submitted to the UN on April 12, 2017 by the country’s permanent representative described this as “a provocative action by the Greek Cypriot administration to offer a license for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the so-called area 6, which lies partly in the outer limits of the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean “. It was also noted that Turkey “is committed to protecting its sovereign rights arising from international law and will not allow foreign companies to carry out unauthorized activities in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons on its own continental shelf.” Moreover, recently, after the discovery of Saturn 1 in August 2022, Ankara hastened to reiterate through the state news agency that it does not recognize the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction of Cyprus with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel.