ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy on Friday began exploratory drilling for natural gas in a prospect west of Cyprus, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said on X.

ExxonMobil and its partner offshore Cyprus, QatarEnergy, on Friday started drilling for natural gas in an exploration block in the island nation’s exclusive economic zone, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said. The U.S. supermajor and Qatar’s state energy giant launched drilling activities in Block 5, Christodoulides wrote on X.

According to S&P Global, estimates suggest that the Electra-1 exploration well is targeting a structure that could hold between 15 Tcf and 30 Tcf of gas. In a post on X, President Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus announced that drilling began on Friday morning.