Cyprus announced that energy consortium Total-ENI has applied for a licence to explore for natural gas in offshore prospect Block 7 of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone.
In a statement the Ministry of Energy said that "within the framework of the application procedures for a Hydrocarbon Research License in Block 7 within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus completed today, Monday 26 November 2018, a request was received from Total E&P Cyprus B.V. / Eni Cyprus Limited.’’
Knews reported last month that Nicosia limited participation to firms already present in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone, instead of a tender procedure for a fourth licensing round. The decision was made for ''geological reasons and interest shown by various companies’’ said Energy Minister Lakkotrypis.
![A man rides a bicycle past a Civil Defense vehicle in Akrotiri village, located near RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus that was hit by a drone early Monday. [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]](assets/modules/wnp/articles/202603/27746/images/s_akrotiri_village.jpg)
