ExxonMobil is in advanced negotiations with Nicosia to acquire a new block offshore Cyprus, President Nikos Christodoulides told local news station Alpha on 12 May. This would be Exxon’s third asset offshore Cyprus, where it already holds Blocks 5 and 10. The US major is yet to confirm the talks, and President Christodoulides did not reveal which block Exxon might be awarded. But the fact that an award is being negotiated outside a formal licensing round narrows down the option to a single block.
Block 4 is the only open acreage adjacent to the blocks that Exxon currently holds. According to Cypriot licensing rules, it is the only block that the US major is eligible to negotiate for directly outside a bidding round. (CONTINUED - 733 WORDS)
