Cyprus’ COVID-delayed natural gas drilling programme will resume in November-December with US oil major ExxonMobil expected to drill in block 10, Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said.
Briefing a parliamentary committee on Cyprus’s energy programme, Pilides said her ministry worked intensively with ExxonMobil.
It will be the first company to proceed with new drills in block 10 before the end of the year following the 2020 disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said the company had hired a drilling vessel, and the authorities are in the process of issuing the necessary licenses.
Rusting oil tanker off the coast of Yemen is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen
Experts from the US and other countries started arriving in Cyprus to take part in the drilling process.
“We are on track, and we hope there will be no surprises associated with the pandemic.
We expect between November and December the latest the drilling programme will resume followed by ENI TOTAL with which consultations are underway,” Pilides added.
Read more: Financial Mirror
