Natural gas could begin flowing by 2033 from two undersea deposits discovered by ExxonMobil off Cyprus, a senior executive with the company announced Tuesday. ExxonMobil and its consortium partner, QatarEnergy, have declared these deposits commercially viable, signaling a significant push into the Eastern Mediterranean's energy resources.
John Ardill, ExxonMobil’s Vice President of Global Exploration, indicated that a pipeline to existing processing facilities in Egypt would be the most probable route to market for the gas. There, it could be liquefied for export to international buyers. Building onshore facilities in Cyprus or a floating facility directly over the deposits is currently deemed too costly, according to Ardill.
"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 stated, highlighting the regional political alignment underpinning these energy projects. This coordination facilitates the extraction and export of resources, often bypassing local needs for broader geopolitical aims.
The Regional Energy Landscape
The Glaucus and Pegasus deposits, located in Block 10 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, are estimated to hold a combined total of roughly 7 trillion cubic feet of gas. The ExxonMobil-QatarEnergy consortium aims to expand its presence off Cyprus, expressing interest in exploring an additional block on the southwestern corner of the exclusive economic zone, adjacent to areas where it already holds drilling licenses. This expansion reflects a broader scramble for control over the region's hydrocarbon wealth.
Further drilling at the Pegasus deposit is planned for later this year. This additional exploration seeks to gather more crucial data for the deposit's development, pushing forward the timeline for potential extraction. Ardill emphasized the collaborative effort, stating, "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 diligently to get the gas flowing for the people of Cyprus."
Cyprus has actively sought 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, in 2011. This ambition has drawn multiple international players into its waters, all vying for a share of the lucrative energy market.
Israeli Interests in Cypriot Gas
Beyond the ExxonMobil-QatarEnergy partnership, two other consortiums hold exploration licenses within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone. One consortium, comprising Italy’s Eni and French TOTAL, holds licenses for four blocks, where two deposits are estimated to contain 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas combined. Their Chief Operating Officer, Guido Brusco, noted earlier this year that Eni was nearing a final decision on developing the Cronos gas field, which could deliver hydrocarbons to European markets in about 1 to 2 years from now.
Significantly, a partnership between Chevron, Dutch Shell, and Israeli NewMed holds a license for one block. This block contains the Aphrodite discovery, the oldest find in the area, holding approximately 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. The involvement of an Israeli firm in these energy projects underscores the settler-colonial state's expanding economic footprint and its integration into regional resource extraction, often with the backing of major Western corporations like ExxonMobil and Chevron. These ventures solidify the economic and political ties that bolster the Israeli state's regional influence, even as it continues its military occupation and dispossession of Palestinians.