ExxonMobil to start gas drilling off Cyprus in January, VP exploration says

NICOSIA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil XOM.N will drill a well off Cyprus in January in its pursuit of natural gas, a senior executive said on Thursday, one of several energy majors focusing on the region as Europe diversifies from Russia.

The east Mediterranean has yielded some major gas discoveries in recent years, while a disruption in energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has sharpened Europe's attention on securing supplies elsewhere.

Exxon, which won Cyprus licences in 2017, reported a natural gas find in 2019 at a well dubbed Glaucus. Drillings next year include two new wells; Pegasus and the highly promising Electra, a senior executive responsible for global exploration at the conglomerate said.

"We've spent the last two years collecting very detailed, three dimensional seismic data ... We've identified several large prospects, and the next stage is to bring in a drilling rig and to test those," said John Ardill, Vice-president for global exploration at ExxonMobil.

"We'll spud our first well in mid-January, so we are very excited about that," he told a conference in Nicosia.

ExxonMobil is licensed to explore for hydrocarbons over two offshore blocks in a partnership with Qatar Energy. Other multinationals in the region include U.S.'s Chevron CVX.N, Italy's Eni ENI.MI and France's TotalEnergies TTEF.PA

Cyprus could consider a new licensing round for offshore exploration since interest in the area is robust, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said earlier this month.

Electra, located in the so-called Block 5 out of Cyprus's total 13 offshore exploration areas, was a very large prospect and had the potential to be a standalone development though it would require appraisal drilling for any final conclusions, Ardill said. Pegasus was close to already-discovered Glaucus in block 10, and Cronos, an Eni/Total discovery lying just north in Block 6.

"There is huge potential for gas exploration," Ardill said.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by David Evans)

((michele.kambas@thomsonreuters.com;))