A new natural gas discovery has been made at the “Pegasus-1” well, located in Block 10 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus.
The discovery follows the successful completion of drilling operations carried out by the consortium of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited, the operator, and QatarEnergy International E&P LLC.
Valaris, a global offshore drilling company that provides services to the energy industry, confirmed the discovery. The “Pegasus-1” well is situated approximately 190 km offshore, southwest of Cyprus. Drilling was conducted by the “Valaris DS-9” drillship, which safely reached a depth of 1,921 metres of water. The well revealed an estimated 350 metres of gas-bearing reservoir.
According to the government of Cyprus, further evaluation will be required in the coming months to assess the results of the discovery and determine the potential of the find.
This marks the second confirmed gas discovery in Block 10 by ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy. The first was the “Glaucus-1” well, announced in February 2019. That was followed by the “Glaucus-2” appraisal well, completed in March 2022, which confirmed the existence of high-quality gas-bearing reservoirs in the area.
Earlier this month, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, was briefed on the discovery. Present at the briefing were the Vice President of ExxonMobil, Mr John Ardill; the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of Cyprus, Mr George Papanastasiou; and ExxonMobil Cyprus Country Manager, Mr Varnavas Theodossiou.
