Cronos Gas Field Development Clears Hurdle with Eni, TotalEnergies Investment Decision

Eni and TotalEnergies have reached a final investment decision to develop the Cronos gas field in deep waters offshore Cyprus, marking the country's first hydrocarbon development. The project is operated by Eni, which holds a 50% stake, with TotalEnergies owning the remaining 50%. The field contains more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place and is expected to produce approximately 500 million cubic feet per day.

The Cronos project will transport and process its gas at existing Zohr facilities in Egypt before transferring it to Egypt's Damietta LNG plant for liquefaction and export to international markets, primarily Europe. Eni and TotalEnergies will each market 50% of the LNG volumes for export.

Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi said that this fast-track initiative represents a concrete milestone in positioning Cyprus as a European gas producer and exporter, unlocking the establishment of a regional gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean by leveraging Egypt's existing hydrocarbon infrastructure. TotalEnergies' chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne noted that this new gas route in the Mediterranean will contribute to Europe's energy security by diversifying its LNG supply sources.