Cyprus draws interest for offshore blocks: Eni, Total, Statoil, ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum, and Cairn have expressed interest in a licensing round for Cypriot offshore hydrocarbon blocks that lapsed last week, the country’s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Cyprus has three offshore blocks up for grabs, with interest focused on a sea block close to Egypt’s Zohr field. “The east Mediterranean island is located in the Levant basin, where both Israel and Egypt have made some of the world’s biggest natural gas discoveries in the past decade.” According to the wire, “Cairn through its Capricorn Oil unit had applied jointly with Israel’s Avner and Delek over one block, ENI and Total jointly over two blocks, ENI on its own over another, Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum over one, and Statoil Upsilon Netherlands B.V. on its own.”