Cyprus President Demetris Christofias yesterday paid a visit to an offshore drilling rig searching for gas south of the Mediterranean island, Reuters reports.
Noble Corporation started with exploration drilling in September and this was Christofias’ first visit to the drilling site.
“My presence here underlines the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus which we are determined to exercise,” Christofias said.
Turkey has questioned the jurisdiction of Cyprus in exploring for hydrocarbons, saying that potential discoveries offshore Cyprus also belong to Turkish Cypriots, who are not a part of the country’s government.
The president said that Cyprus would continue with the exploration for hydrocarbons despite Turkish objections and that Cyprus would soon announce the second licensing round.
Noble Energy recently sad that drilling was underway at the Cyprus A prospect which has an estimated gross mean resource range of 3 to 9 Tcf and a 60 percent probability of geologic success . The results of the exploration are expected to be announced by mid December.
“We hope for the best possible results soon,” said Christofias to Reuters
A significant discovery would make Cyprus unreliant to gas imports.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff , November 22, 2011