Washington supports the right of Cyprus to exploit its natural wealth, and views energy development in the Eastern Mediterranean as a matter of priority, a senior US diplomat said on Friday.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon made the comments as ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum began drilling in block 10 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
“We view energy as a catalyst for cooperation economic development and to benefit all the people in the region and Cyprus has a meaningful role to that end,” Fannon told reporters after meeting Cyprus Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis.
He added: “We are very excited about the developments ongoing in the region and the great promise…certainly happy to see US company involvement and continued opportunities.”
Fannon said Washington had a “long-standing position of recognizing Cyprus’ right to develop resource wealth in its EEZ.”
“We also continue our long-standing position that we believe that resource wealth should be shared with all communities on the island equitably in the context of a comprehensive settlement,” the US Official said.
Fannon added: “We will continue to advance Eastern Mediterranean energy as a priority.”
Lakkotrypis said he discussed Cyprus-US energy cooperation, East Med hydrocarbons potential and the strategic significance of US companies active in the Cypriot EEZ.
“We agreed to continue discussions concerning the developments and a closer collaboration with the US and the countries of the region on a common goal, the efficient development of energy resources of the Eastern Mediterranean,” Lakkotrypis said.
An announcement by the Cyprus energy ministry on Friday confirmed that the consortium of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum commenced drilling operations at the site of the “Delphyne-1” well.
“Drilling operations, conducted by the ‘Stena Icemax’ drillship at a waterbed depth of 1,973 metres, will be monitored on a continuous basis by the Ministry of Energy who will be analysing the collected data,” the announcement said.
Fannon is on a regional tour – that includes Israel and Egypt – to meet officials and private sector representatives to discuss energy security and regional cooperation on energy issues.
“His trip will highlight the economic opportunities in the energy sector for Eastern Mediterranean gas development and related exports and encourage discussions on how countries can harness this potential for increased regional stability and economic growth,” the State Department said.
ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have been awarded the exploration/exploitation licence in block 10 of Cyprus’ EEZ.
Navtex notice
Cyprus has informed mariners about the drilling operations of Stena IceMax at the well site.
A safety zone of 500 meters has been established around the platform and entering this area is prohibited for any reason.
The Navtex marine notice issued for this operation is valid until February 25, 2019.
Turkey has cautioned international oil companies not to drill for hydrocarbons off Cyprus or it will retaliate.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned foreign energy companies not to "overstep the mark" in disputed waters off the Cypriot coast.
The Italian state-controlled ENI had to abandon a scheduled drill for gas south of Cyprus in February due to a standoff with Turkish naval ships blocking the way of a drillship.
Texas-based Noble Energy in 2011 made the first discovery off Cyprus in the Aphrodite block estimated to contain around 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas – it has yet to be commercialised.
The discovery of nearby Egypt’s huge Zohr offshore reservoir in 2015 has stoked interest that Cypriot waters hold the same riches.
Cyprus aims for natural gas to start flowing to Egypt’s LNG facility in 2022, therefore generating its first revenue from natural gas in the same year.
