Roundup: Cyprus announces second failure by ENI-KOGAS to discover natural gas

The Italian-South Korean ENI-KOGAS consortium has failed in its second attempt to discover natural gas in Cyprus' offshore gas fields, the eastern Mediterranean island's president said Thursday.

President Nicos Anastasiades confirmed to reporters after a cabinet meeting that after a four-month exploratory drilling, ENI-KOGAS had failed to discover significant quantities of gas that could offer prospects of further development.

The announcement is considered to be a setback to Cyprus' plans to develop hydrocarbon reserves in its exclusive economic zone that could help it return to growth after its 2013 bailout by international lenders.

But Anastasiades brushed away disappointment and pointed to the experience of Norway where rich gas deposits were discovered after three failed drillings.

He added that the government's plans to develop the island's offshore hydrocarbon deposits "do not change at all."

Asked whether more time will be given to the ENI-KOGAS consortium to continue its exploration, he said these are issues which will be examined with "due seriousness."

Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis will make a detailed announcement later in the day about the result of the drilling and the government's plans.

The ENI-KOGAS consortium announced in December that an exploratory drilling in the same block had failed to tap gas after reaching a depth of 5,800 meters.

France's Total also failed in an exploratory drilling in 2014 to discover natural gas in an adjacent block and was given a further year to continue its hydrocarbons prospecting.

After the three failed attempts, the government is now focusing on the development of a gas field in Block 12, operated by Noble Energy.

The Texas-based company is about to declare as commercially exploitable a gas find of about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in a field called Aphrodite. Endit