Eni signs up to $1.8bn Cronos contracts for Cyprus's first gas project

Eni signed the main engineering, procurement, construction and drilling contracts at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on Monday 26 October. President Nikos Christodoulides, Energy Minister Michael Damianos and Eni chief operating officer for global natural resources Guido Brusco attended, Politis reported. The Italian operator and its partner TotalEnergies had taken the final investment decision on Cronos in July 2026.

Cronos moves into execution

Eni said the project should reach a production plateau of up to 500 million standard cubic feet per day. The field, discovered in Block 6 of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone in August 2022, holds more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas. Brusco called the development a historic milestone for Cyprus, describing it as the country's first hydrocarbon field development project.

Christodoulides said the contracts, worth up to $1.8bn (€1.61bn), were "a decisive step towards the exploitation of our country's natural wealth." He also called them "a strong vote of confidence in our country's energy prospects, carrying particular geopolitical and economic significance." The president said the step would lead to the first commercial exploitation of Cypriot natural gas.

Export route runs through Egypt

The export route runs through Egypt. A 110km subsea pipeline will carry Cronos gas to the Zohr processing facility, and from there it goes to the Damietta LNG plant for liquefaction and shipment, mainly to Europe, Eni said. Damianos told the Associated Press that piping Cronos gas to Egypt would cost roughly $2bn, or half the estimated cost of developing other gas fields in Cypriot waters, because the route uses infrastructure that already exists.

Under a clause in the deal, about a fifth of Cronos output could be diverted to cover some Egyptian domestic demand, the AP reported. Damianos said the East Mediterranean is becoming an alternative energy source for Europe because of the war in Ukraine and upheaval in the Middle East.

The contracts follow talks between Egyptian and Cypriot ministers at an East Mediterranean Gas Forum roundtable in Greece, where both sides called for faster work to connect Cronos to Egyptian infrastructure. Egypt's petroleum ministry said production is targeted to begin in 2028.

A small reserve with a first-producer role

Damianos has played down the money. "It's a small reserve," he told the AP, saying Cyprus's income would not be huge and that what mattered was the start of being a producer and having first gas. Cyprus is expected to become a first-time gas producer in 2028, according to Eni. MEES reported that Eni's target is for first gas to go to market by March 2028.

Work on the pipeline from Cronos to Zohr was due to begin later this year and take up to 18 months to complete, the AP reported. Cronos is one of six natural gas deposits discovered in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.