Cyprus Mail: Commerce minister calls for patience over hydrocarbons
COMMERCE MINISTER Praxoulla Antoniadou yesterday called for patience, saying Cyprus would get the first indications on the extent of possible hydrocarbon deposits in block 12 of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Christmas.
She called on the media not to speculate on the potential size of reserves until the results of the tests are announced in the coming days.
Local daily Politis yesterday reported that the preliminary results of tests conducted by Noble Energy which has a concession to drill in block 12, the Aphrodite field, have far exceeded initial expectations.
Citing non-government sources, the paper said Noble officials have revised their estimates upwards from a potential 3-9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves with a 60 per cent probability of geologic success to 8-13 tcf.