Eni and TotalEnergies have begun drilling the Cronos-1 well offshore Cyprus.
A statement from the Cypriot Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry announced the arrival of the Tungsten Explorer, which will drill the well in Block 6.
Eni drilled the Calypso discovery in the block in early 2018. The company announced a gas discovery, comparing it with the major Zohr find offshore Egypt.
The Italian company is the operator of the block, with a 50% stake, while Total holds the remaining 50%.
The two dominate Cyprus’ offshore, holding seven of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) blocks.
ExxonMobil drilled the Glaucus-2 well offshore Cyprus earlier this year, with QatarEnergy (QE). The Stena Forth rig made a discovery, according to the Cyprus energy ministry.
Vantage Drilling owns the Tungsten Explorer, which has been operating in the Eastern Mediterranean for a while. The company upgraded the rig with a Schlumberger managed pressure drilling (MPD) system in 2019.
The Tungsten Explorer had been under contract to Eni in Egypt for coming to Cyprus.
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