Oil majors Statoil, Eni, Total and ExxonMobil have submitted rival bids for three exploration blocks offshore Cyprus in the country's 3rd Licensing Round.
Three blocks - 6, 8 and 10 - in the Mediterranean Sea were put on offer, with six applications made, Cyprus' Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism said earlier this week.
Eni has bid, as operator, for all three blocks, pitching itself against ExxonMobil, Statoil and Cairn Energy.
Block 10 has had the most interest, with Eni, ExxonMobil and Statoil making bids, as operators. Only Eni has bid for Block 6.
The applicants are:
Block 6:
Block 8:
Block 10:
To date 13 exploration blocks have been defined by the Republic of Cyprus at the south of the island following international bilateral agreements with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel, says business consultancy PwC.
Yet just one, Block 12, covering 2684sq km, has been drilled on, by Noble Energy. Noble discovered the Aphrodite field in 2011. It is estimated to contain some 4 Tcf of gas and could have development synergies with the neighboring Leviathan field, in Israeli waters, Noble has said. Noble has submitted a preliminary field development plan for Aphrodite to the Cypriot government.
Last year, Noble farmed out a 35% interest in the field to BG Group, now part of Shell, for US$165 million, with Noble retaining 35% interest and operatorship.
Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, which was set as an exploration area, occupies an area of 51,000sq km off the south-eastern coast of the island, covering the Eratosthenes seamount, the Levant Basin, and the Nile Delta.
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