Italian energy firm Eni and its partner Total have reported a lean gas discovery offshore Cyprus following the drilling of the Calypso 1 NFW well.

The discovery was made in Block 6 where Eni is the operator holding a stake of 50%, while French oil and gas firm Total owns the remaining 50% stake.

Eni said that the Calypso 1 NFW well was drilled in 2,074m of water depth. The drilling had reached a final total depth of 3,827m, when the well had encountered an extended gas column in rocks of Miocene and Cretaceous age.

Eni further revealed that the Cretaceous sequence has very good reservoir characteristics.

The company said: “Calypso 1 is a promising gas discovery and confirms the extension of the “Zohr like” play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.”

The Block 6 partners have completed a thorough data collection from fluids and rock samples on the well.  Further studies are planned to be carried out to evaluate the range of the gas volumes in place and chalk out strategy for holding further exploration and appraisal operations.

Eni and Total had bagged rights for Block 6 in late 2016 from the Cypriot government during the country’s third offshore licensing round. Apart from Block 6, two other blocks 8 and 10, also located in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus had featured in the licensing round.

Eni has been active in Cyprus from 2013 onwards, holding stakes in six licenses located in the Exclusive Economic Zone in Blocks 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11. Out of these, the Italian firm is an operator of five blocks.

Eni is also the operator of the Zohr offshore field in Egyptian waters, located about 80kms away from the Calypso 1 discovery. The company along with its partners had produced the first gas from the Zohr field in December 2017.


Image: Eni made a gas discovery in Cyprus waters following the drilling of the Calypso 1 NFW well. Photo: courtesy of suwatpo/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net.