Energy and Commerce Minister George Lakkotrypismade the statement after meeting representatives of the company who are in Cyprus, adding that “this morning we had a meeting with Noble where representatives informed us on their schedule”, pointing out that the first issue on today’s agenda was the confirmation drilling. “The company informed us that it is going ahead according to its working schedule and that the confirmation drilling is expected to take place in the third trimester of 2013”, he pointed out.

The Minister said that Noble could not be more specific because there are many factors that must be taken into consideration. “What is sure”, he added “is that they will try to commence drilling in the third trimester of this year”. Asked if Noble will hold a second confirmation drilling, Lakkotrypis replied positively, noting that this will be held at reserves, which possibly have prospects to find natural gas.

The initial data that emerged from the exploratory drilling conducted by Houston-based “Noble Energy” in EEZ block 12 indicates the existence of a natural gas reservoir ranging from 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) with a gross mean of 7 tcf.

On January 24, Cyprus signed contracts with the ENI/KOGAS consortium for hydrocarbons exploration in blocks 2, 3 and 9 in the EEZ of Cyprus, while on February 6 it signed hydrocarbon exploration contacts with French TOTAL for blocks 10 and 11.

Source: Financial Mirror