
An offshore drilling rig is seen in the waters off Cyprus’ coastal city of Limassol, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A consortium made up of energy companies Eni of Italy and France’s Total is expediting plans to develop natural gas deposits off Cyprus following the discovery of a third field containing 2-3 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon inside the same licensed exploration area, the Cypriot energy ministry says.
The ministry announces the discovery at the Zeus-1 well some 162 kilometers (100 miles) inside Block 6 off Cyprus southern coastline, at a depth of 2,300 meters (1.42 miles). The field, containing a 105-meter (344-foot) column of gas, is located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) west of the Cronos-1 well where the consortium announced in August an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.