ExxonMobil’s new gas discovery springs into view offshore Cyprus

July 8, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Two energy giants, U.S.-headquartered ExxonMobil and Qatar’s QatarEnergy, have made a new gas find off the coast of Cyprus, using a drillship owned by Valaris, an offshore drilling contractor.

Valaris DS-9 drillship; Source: ExxonMobil

As ExxonMobil has made a new natural gas discovery at the Pegasus-1 well in Block 10 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, the country claims that further assessment will be required in the coming months to evaluate the results.

This is the second gas discovery the U.S. player and QatarEnergy have made in this block, following the discovery at the Glaucus-1 well, announced in February 2019, and the Glaucus-2 appraisal well, completed in March 2022, which confirmed the existence of a high-quality gas-bearing reservoir.

The most recent discovery comes in the aftermath of drilling operations conducted by the consortium consisting of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus as the operator and QatarEnergy International E&P as its partner.

Valaris rig on the move as ExxonMobil’s drilling ops end in non-commercial gas volumes

Exploration & Production

According to the Cyprus government, Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, was briefed on the latest natural gas discovery in Block 10 during a videoconference with John Ardill, Vice President of ExxonMobil, in the presence of George Papanastasiou, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus, and Varnavas Theodossiou, Country Manager of ExxonMobil Cyprus.

Located about 190 kilometers offshore southwest of Cyprus, the Pegasus-1 well is said to have indicated approximately 350 meters of gas-bearing reservoir. The well was drilled by the Valaris DS-9 drillship in 1,921 meters of water.

ExxonMobil is actively working on boosting its hydrocarbon arsenal, as illustrated by another gas discovery, which was made in the western region of the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Egypt, using the same drillship after exercising a six-month priced option for the rig.