Large deposits of natural gas have been discovered south of Cyprus. Italy’s state-owned energy company Eni announced in a statement the “important discovery” at a depth of 2,287 meters, about 160 kilometers off the coast of Cyprus.

This was also stated on Monday by the Minister of Energy of Cyprus, Natasa Piledou, on the air of the state radio (RIK). The Italian-French energy consortium Eni-Total made the discovery during geological exploration. According to the statements, the gas field will contain about 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas of good quality.

The Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” recognized this news as important for Italy’s energy policy. But the opening also gives European countries the opportunity to become independent from Russian gas supplies.

However, another year will pass before the funding begins. However, Cyprus is at odds with Turkey over drilling in the Mediterranean.

Back in 2011, the American company Noble Energy discovered large deposits of natural gas in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Cyprus while drilling further east of the current site. However, since then there has been a dispute with neighboring Turkey regarding the exploitation of raw materials. Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided into the Greek-Cypriot part in the south and the Turkish-Cypriot part in the north of the island. As the German publication Handelsblatt writes, “as long as there is no solution to the Cyprus problem, Ankara is blocking the development of natural gas deposits and the search for other deposits.”