US energy firm says data favorable for sizable quantity of natural gas off Cyprus

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - A senior official with U.S. company Noble Energy says seismic data indicate a strong chance of a sizable natural gas find off the southeastern coast of Cyprus.

Noble Energy Vice President Terry Gerhart says his company hopes to begin drilling in an 800,000-acre (1,250-square-mile) area known as Block 12 in either the fourth quarter this year of the first quarter of 2012.

He says a pipeline is one option of bringing any gas to Cyprus.

Gerhart has speaking Wednesday after talks with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias.

Cyprus licensed Noble Energy in 2007 to explore Block 12, which is near a field discovered off Israel that contains more than 450 billion cubic meters (15.9 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas.

(Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9LDQ2G00)