Italian oil and gas company Eni finalized a farm-in agreement with Total to acquire 50 percent participating interest in block 11 offshore Cyprus.
Total will remain operator of the block following the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus’ approval of the agreement.
The area, nearby the Zohr gas discovery offshore Egypt, covers 2,215 square kilometers, Eni said in a statement.
Total secured the exploration rights in the block 11 in 2013 at the conclusion of the country’s second licensing round for offshore exploration. Eni expects the drilling of an exploration well to start in 2017.
According to a brief comment by Georgios Lakkotrypis , minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism through his social media channels, EUS oil and gas giant ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have been named the selected bidders for the exploration block 10 which is part of the country’s third licensing round.
Eni added in its statement that together with Total it has been chosen as selected bidder for Block 6 (Eni 50 percent, Total 50 percent) and Block 8 (Eni 100 percent).
LNG World News Staff