Italy's Eni makes 2-3 Tcf gas find offshore Cyprus with Zeus well

Italy's Eni has discovered 2-3 Tcf of gas with its Zeus-1 exploration well offshore Cyprus, the third consecutive gas discovery in Block 6, the company said Dec. 21.

Cyprus is now home to five major gas discoveries, though none of the finds have been developed yet.

However, Eni said in a statement that it was now considering fast-track development options for Block 6.

The Zeus-1 well was drilled and successfully tested with the Tungsten Explorer drillship, it said.

"Results of the test are being incorporated in the evaluation of the discoveries cluster that will drive subsequent studies and operations targeting a fast-track development of Block 6," it said.

Block 6 is operated by Eni with a 50% stake. Its partner at the block is France's TotalEnergies.

Previous finds

In August, Eni said it had discovered some 2.5 Tcf of gas with its Cronos-1 exploration well in Block 6 and that it saw "significant" additional upside in the area to be investigated with another well.

It followed a first Eni discovery in Block 6 in 2018 with the Calypso well, which is estimated to hold 6-8 Tcf of gas.

The first find offshore Cyprus was the 4.1 Tcf Aphrodite discovery in 2011, which is now operated by US major Chevron. In 2019, ExxonMobil made a 5-8 Tcf gas discovery with the Glaucus-1 well.

Plans for more drilling offshore Cyprus were postponed through 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, but they have resumed this year.

With Eni's new 2-3 Tcf find with Zeus-1, the total gas resource in Cyprus is now as high as 25.5 Tcf, or 720 Bcm.

While all Cyprus's gas finds remain undeveloped, interest in the country's gas-rich waters remains strong, particularly given record-high European gas prices.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the benchmark Dutch TTF month-ahead price at an all-time high of Eur319.98/MWh on Aug. 26.

Prices have weakened since on the back of healthy storage and demand curtailments, though prices remain historically high with Platts assessing the TTF month-ahead price at Eur106.90/MWh Dec. 20.