Cyprus Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said that in the next few days Cyprus will have an idea of whether the large natural gas reserve recently discovered [Zohr] off the coast of Egypt extends inside the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), reported Cyprus Mail.
Sigmaville quoted the Lakkotrypis saying “Two things must extend to our EEZ, the geological structure of the sea bed and the gas field as such.” He adds “We are already working on the geological evidence and we will have a certain picture in the coming days” he said, adding that “Zhor” borders Cyprus’ block 11.”
According to ENI, the prospect covers an area of about 100 square kilometres, and has a hydrocarbon column of 630 meters.
If the reservoir does overlap, the unitization agreement signed between Cyprus and Egypt in December 2013 would presumably kick in.
Hypothetically, should part of the Zohr prospect cross over into the Cypriot EEZ, this could represent a windfall for the state – the share of proceeds under the unitization agreement with Egypt – without Cyprus spending a cent on development.
