Natural gas could start flowing 7 years from now from two undersea deposits discovered by ExxonMobil off Cyprus, a senior executive with the company said Tuesday, as ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy declared the deposits commercially viable. The largest U.S. oil company and its consortium partner said the gas could help turn Cyprus into a new European energy hub.
ExxonMobil's Vice President of Global Exploration John Ardill said the most likely way to get the gas to market would be through a pipeline to existing processing facilities in Egypt, where it could be liquefied for export. He said building onshore facilities in Cyprus or a floating facility in waters over the deposits would be too costly at this point.
Eastern Mediterranean Energy Corridor
"Everything you've seen between the government of Cyprus and the government of Egypt gives us a lot of confidence that there's good government to government coordination, the agreements in place to leverage that eastern Mediterranean energy hub concept," Ardill said.
The deposits, called Glaucus and Pegasus, are in Block 10 of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone and are estimated to hold roughly 7 trillion cubic feet of gas together. Ardill said the consortium wants to expand its presence off Cyprus and is interested in exploring an area, or block, on the southwestern corner of the exclusive economic zone that is adjacent to an area where it already holds drilling licenses.
The consortium plans additional drilling at the Pegasus deposit later this year to collect more key data for its development, he said. Ardill also said, "So what we should tell ordinary people is we have been working very diligently together between government and investor to make these discoveries and we're working very diligent to get the gas flowing for the people of Cyprus."
Regional Energy Competition
Cyprus has been trying to position itself as a new energy source for Europe and beyond since the initial discovery of natural gas off its southern shore 15 years ago. Apart from ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy, two other consortiums hold exploration licenses in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone.
A consortium made up of Italy's Eni and French TOTAL holds licenses for four blocks where two deposits hold an estimated 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas combined. A partnership between Chevron, Dutch Shell and Israeli NewMed holds a license for one block where the oldest discovery, Aphrodite, holds approximately 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Earlier this year, Eni's Chief Operating Officer Guido Brusco said the company was close to making a final decision on developing the Cronos gas field that could deliver the hydrocarbon to European markets about 1 to 2 years from now.
Why This Matters:
The eastern Mediterranean's emerging gas fields represent a strategic shift in Europe's energy security calculus. Cyprus sits at the intersection of three continents and could provide Europe with alternatives to Russian energy supplies that have proven unreliable and politically weaponized. The cooperation between Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel on energy infrastructure development creates a network of democratic partners with shared economic interests. If the Glaucus and Pegasus deposits reach production by 2033, they'll join other regional fields in supplying liquefied natural gas to European markets at a time when energy independence remains a critical national security priority for NATO allies. The Egyptian pipeline route leverages existing infrastructure, making the project economically viable where standalone Cypriot facilities wouldn't be. This pragmatic approach to energy development shows how market forces and geopolitical necessity can align when governments coordinate effectively rather than impose regulatory barriers.