Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, Jan. 26 -- International energy companies can bid for 12 blocks off Cyprus in the country's first licensing round, which will be launched Feb. 15. The deadline for bids is July 16.
The blocks, which span 70,000 sq km, lie near Egypt's proved hydrocarbons system, which indicates they could hold petroleum. Thick Levantine and West Eratosthenes sedimentary basins surround the blocks.
Norway's seismic data company Petroleum Geo-Services has shot a 2D seismic survey for Cyprus. Mark Spencer Jones, business development manager at PGS told OGJ the eastern Mediterranean is a relatively unexplored region because the government has focused its attention on domestic political issues, and the fall of oil prices in the 1980s made it uneconomic to carry out exploration and production.
Solon Kassinis, energy director at the Cypriot Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, added that energy security in Cyprus has also become a priority for the Cypriot government following the record energy demand in China and India. "Around 92% of our imports are oil, and the other 8% of our energy supplies is from solar power; we are the leader in the world," he said.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
