Israeli gas find raises hopes in Cyprus

By Michele Kambas

NICOSIA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Israel's discovery of large natural gas deposits off its Mediterranean coast is an encouraging indication that similar finds are possible off nearby Cyprus, a senior Cyprus energy official said on Thursday.

A U.S.-Israeli exploration group led by Noble Energy (NBL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) this week announced it had found more than 88 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas 90 km (56 miles) from the port of Haifa in northern Israel.

Noble has exploration rights for a block in Cypriot waters in the same region. The two countries are about 250 km apart.

"This is a very good lead," said Solon Kassinis, head of the Energy Service of Cyprus. He said the location of the find was most promising for the presence of hydrocarbons.

"It was found under the Messinian layer, and that is an indication we have petroleum in the Cyprus economic zone. It is a very good geological indication," he said.

The Messinian layer is a complex formation of salts and mineral deposits from part evaporation of the Mediterranean 5.9 million years ago.

Noble has exploration rights over the Cypriot block for a three year period, Kassinis said.

Cyprus launched its first licensing round for hydrocarbons in 11 offshore blocks, most of them in deepwater locations, in mid-2007. It went ahead despite objections from Turkey, which invaded the north of Cyprus in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup.