[Boogieman]

So, if they get the contract, it would be Noble gas?

[haffast]

It's Cyprus' gas, but Cyprus contracted with Noble, an American drilling contractor whose goal is to position itself in foreign drilling markets, to drill exploration and test wells, and I guess Noble will get paid for their services partially, or maybe completely by a percentage of whatever the wells produce and Cyprus gets to market.

The quicker the gas gets to market, the sooner Noble gets paid. If Noble sells Cyprus on the idea of using more of Noble's drilling services, ie Noble's spar platform and assistance with building a pipeline to get the NG to market,...it's a win-win for Noble.

Click on the keyword "peaceandsecurity" and scroll through some of the articles mentioning gas or natural gas in Cyprus, Israel and the Mediterranean. Everybody/country and his brother is jockeying for position on these gas discoveries.

Genie Energy, another American energy firm, is drilling in the Golan Heights for Israel. The geopolitic$ of "peace and $ecurity" in the ME and the Med is complex, and natural gas figures into it.