East Mediterranean—a mixed bag

While Egypt's gas output is set to soar, Cypriot and Israeli exports are being curtailed by regional politics and low prices. It's a mixed outlook for East Mediterranean gas

Offshore Cyprus, a Total-Eni consortium finished drilling in Block 11 in September. A gas discovery was made, but the results were disappointing. With reserves of less than 14.16bn cubic metres, the find was too small for commercial exploitation. However, this hasn't put Eni off—the company plans to drill two offshore wells in Blocks 6 and 8, starting in late 2017. ExxonMobil plans to follow, during the second half of 2018, with two wells in Block 10. Based on the assessment of seismic data, the prospects look good, but only test wells will show whether the optimism is justified. Some operators off Cyprus also face geopolitical uncertainties. Turkey says that part of Block 6 lies on its cont