Two gas fields off Cyprus could start production by 2033
Energy companies ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy signed a "declaration of marketability" with Cyprus, declaring two gas discoveries commercially viable. Production could begin by 2033, according to ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy signed a "declaration of marketability" with Cyprus in Nicosia on Tuesday, officially certifying two natural gas discoveries off the island's coast as commercially viable. The Glaucus and Pegasus fields, major ExxonMobil finds in Block 10 of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone, are estimated to hold more than 7 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Speaking after the signing, John Ardill, ExxonMobil’s vice president of global exploration, said natural gas could start flowing from the fields by 2033. "What we should tell ordinary people is we have been working very diligently together between government and investor to make these discoveries and we’re working very diligently to get the gas flowing for the people of Cyprus," Ardill said, according to the Associated Press.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs and president and CEO of QatarEnergy, the consortium partner, said in a statement that the declaration marks "an important step in advancing the development of offshore resources in Cyprus and in reinforcing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean."
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides hailed the signing as "a major step towards establishing the Eastern Mediterranean as a credible alternative energy corridor for Europe."
The European Union has been working to diversify its energy market since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The bloc agreed to phase out imports of Russian gas by late 2027. As part of this effort, it created a "Mediterranean gas hub" in southern Europe to help diversify energy suppliers and routes. The EU says the hub could become "a key source and route for supplying gas" to member states.
Speaking in January, Cyprus's energy minister Michael Damianos said: "We are breaking away from detrimental reliance on Russian gas and taking a major step, in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation, towards an autonomous Energy Union."
