Chevron is preparing to issue a tender to lease a drilling ship to explore for natural gas off Cyprus, Egypt and Israel, it said on Monday.
Reuters this month cited sources saying that the U.S. company had issued a tender seeking a drilling vessel in 2024 for a year with an option to extend for several years.
Chevron on Monday said that it was "working towards issuing a tender, potentially during the second quarter (of 2023) when it has received appropriate approvals, to secure a drill ship that would work for us across Egypt, Israel and Cyprus".
Energy companies have sought to develop new resources to meet growing demand from Europe since February 2022 prompted a move away from Russian energy.
Chevron wants to expedite development of the Aphrodite gas field southeast of Cyprus. The field is estimated to contain about 4.5 trillion cubic metres (tcf) of gas.
It also operates the giant Leviathan field off the cost of Israel. Leviathan produces 12 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year, which is supplied to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.