State-owned Qatar Petroleum and the U.S.-based energy giant ExxonMobil will start drilling for oil and gas offshore Cyprus next year under a new exploration and production sharing contract signed on Wednesday.
The signing of the deal for offshore Block 10 in south-west of Cyprus, followed the successful bid which was recently awarded to the consortium of the two companies, Qatar Petroleum, the world’s largest LNG producer, said in a statement.
A 3D seismic survey is already underway, as the consortium partners prepare to begin exploration drilling in 2018, the statement reads.
The consortium will also work with the Government of Cyprus to help build national skills in the oil and gas industry, it added.