Aphrodite gas field

Aphrodite Gas Field
Location of Aphrodite Gas Field
Country	Cyprus
Region	Eastern Mediterranean
Offshore/onshore	offshore
Coordinates	33°5′40″N 32°59′0″E / 33.09444°N 32.98333°E / 33.09444; 32.98333[1]
Operators	Chevron Corporation[2] Delek Drilling, Shell Oil Company[3]
Field history
Discovery	announced on 28 December 2011[4]
Production
Estimated gas in place	7,000×10^9 cu ft (200×10^9 m3)
Producing formations	Tamar sands

Aphrodite gas field is an offshore gas field off the southern coast of Cyprus located at the exploratory drilling block 12 in the country's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone and bordering the Yishai gas field, located in Israeli territorial waters.^[5] Located 34 kilometres (21 mi) west of Israel's Leviathan gas field, block 12 is believed to hold 3.6 to 6 trillion cubic feet (100×10^⁹ to 170×10^⁹ m³) of natural gas.^[6][7] In 2014, the reserve estimate for the quantity of natural gas held by Aphrodite was raised by 12% due to new data received from the Yishai prospect as reported by Delek Drilling to the Israel Securities Authority. ^{[8] [9]} The cost of the field's development was estimated to range from $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion. ^[10]

Noble Energy received the concession to explore block 12 in October 2008.^[11] In August 2011, Noble entered into a production-sharing agreement with the Cypriot government regarding the block's commercial development.^[12] Sources in Cyprus indicated in mid-September that Noble had commenced exploratory drilling of the block.^[13] The drilling, which took 116 days to complete, resulted in the finding of gas in high-quality Miocene sand intervals at the Aphrodite field.^[14]

In 2015, Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, and Avner Oil Exploration filed a Declaration of Commerciality of the field to be followed by a development and production plan. Noble Energy sold a 35% stake of Block 12, which includes Aphrodite, to BG for $165 million.^[15]

On May 7, 2023, in a first for the Aphrodite field, partners including Chevron Corporation and Shell plc began drilling an appraisal well. Drilling for natural gas in Aphrodite is expected at the earliest in 2027.^[16]