Eni and TotalEnergies have taken a final investment decision to develop the Cronos gas field offshore Cyprus, targeting production equivalent to about 2.8m tonnes of LNG a year from 2028, according to Eni.
Cronos is set to become Cyprus’ first gas development and the country’s first hydrocarbon project to enter production. The field lies in Block 6, about 185 km southwest of Cyprus, and contains more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place.
Eni operates the block with a 50% interest, while TotalEnergies holds the remaining 50%. The development will use four subsea production wells and is expected to reach plateau output of about 500m standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Gas will be transported by subsea pipeline from Cypriot waters to Egypt, processed through infrastructure serving the Zohr field and liquefied at the Damietta LNG plant. The LNG will be marketed internationally, mainly in Europe.
The use of existing Egyptian infrastructure is intended to reduce development costs, shorten the construction timetable and limit the carbon intensity associated with building new processing facilities.
The project is expected to support the restart of Damietta LNG and the return of regular Egyptian LNG exports. Eni and TotalEnergies will each market about 1.4m tonnes of LNG a year. The partners have signed the main agreements covering access to Zohr’s offshore facilities, gas transit through Egypt, liquefaction at Damietta and LNG sales.
A host-government agreement was signed in February 2025. Further resources in Block 6 could be developed later, subject to additional appraisal drilling. The companies have not disclosed the project’s capital cost.
Eni is an Italian integrated energy company active in oil and gas production, LNG, refining, power generation and lower-carbon energy businesses. It has operated in Cyprus since 2013, operates offshore Block 8 and holds interests in Blocks 7 and 11.
TotalEnergies is a French multi-energy company with activities in oil, biofuels, natural gas, LNG, renewable energy and electricity. In Cyprus, it operates offshore Blocks 7 and 11 and holds an interest in Block 8.