ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum, Eni, Total successfully bid on offshore concessions in Cyprus

ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum, Eni, and Total have successfully bid for rights to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus as part of a third licensing round to be approved by the cabinet on March 17, Cyprus trade minister George Lakkotrypis told reporters on Tuesday. Eni and Total jointly negotiated a license for a block off the island's south coast while Eni secured another on its own. ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum successfully bid for a third, Cyprus’ Expatica reports. Cyprus and Egypt are looking into the possibility of transferring gas from the Aphrodite field to Egypt via an undersea pipeline. Cyprus hopes to begin exporting gas, and possibly oil, by 2022.