Noble drills to confirm size of Cyprus gas field
Houston-based company, which owns significant shares in major Israeli offshore deposits Tamar and Leviathan, probes new Mediterranean find
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Noble Energy, which owns significant shares in the gas deposits found off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, among them Tamar and Leviathan, on Friday said it had begun drilling to determine the size of a gas field off Cyprus’ southern coast.
The Houston-based company said Friday that it would take three months to drill to a depth of 5,600 meters (18,372 feet) below sea level and another 2-3 months to assess the data which will help map out the next stages of the field’s development.
The field is estimated to 5-8 trillion cubic feet (140-230 billion cubic meters) of gas.
Bailed-out Cyprus is looking to its offshore gas reserves to help it pull out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Cypriot authorities say confirmation of the field’s size will help attract investors for a planned gas processing plant that will meet domestic energy needs and export excess supply.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.