QatarEnergy to explore for gas off Cyprus

State-owned QatarEnergy will conduct exploration activities in Cyprus after signing a commercial discovery declaration for the Glaucus and Pegasus gas fields.

Exploration in Block 10 will be carried out in collaboration with the Cyprus government and US energy major ExxonMobil, which holds a 60 percent stake in the block. QatarEnergy holds the remaining 40 percent.

The agreement, signed in Cyprus’s capital Nicosia, will advance the development of Cyprus’s offshore resources, QatarEnergy said in a statement.

Saad Al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy’s CEO, said the move is an important step in developing Cyprus’s offshore resources and reinforcing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean.

QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil will work together on regulatory engagement and approvals, as well as development and production planning, to support the next phase of Block 10 activities.

In May, ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt to evaluate linking their gas concessions in Cyprus to Egyptian processing facilities.

This month, Libya‘s National Oil Corporation signed production-sharing agreements with QatarEnergy and several oil companies after the country’s first licensing round in nearly two decades.

Further reading:

• Libya inks deals with Eni, QatarEnergy and Repsol
• Gulf war repair bill threatens overseas energy investments
• QatarEnergy deal aims to link Cyprus gas sites with Egypt