Cyprus says offshore gas discovery could help Europe – Observer

The Cypriot government said, on Monday, that the discovery of natural gas off the coast of Cyprus, which is estimated to be contained around it 70.8 billion cubic meters of hydrocarbonsstrengthens European efforts to combat the supply crisis.

The Ministry of Energy said, in a statement, that the discovery of the oil companies Eni (Italy) and Total (France) was made in Kronos Well -1 160 km of coast in 2,287 meters of water, within the economic zone of Cyprus, the second deposit found there by the Franco-Italian consortium.

Eni-Total has not provided estimates on how much gas is present in the initial “Calypso” field, which was found in 2018. But Eni said on Monday that the discovery of Kronos-1 “He can unleash additional potential in the region” It is part of “A successful effort by the company to supply Europe with more gas”.

The discovery of Kronos raises the number of deposits in Cyprus to four.

The Ministry of Energy said that the Eni Total consortium’s Tungsten Explorer vessel is heading towards a new goal “More accurate assessment of gas quantities”.

The Cypriot government said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has given an additional impetus to the search for alternative fuel sources, especially after the European Union confirmed that natural gas could serve as an alternative by 2050 as part of a cleaner energy transition. .

Energy Minister Natasha Peledas said the EU’s efforts to get rid of Russian gas were strengthening the inclusion of Cyprus in the energy planning of the 27 member states.