Eni and TotalEnergies Greenlight Cyprus' First Gas Project, Targeting 2028 Production

Italy's Eni and France's TotalEnergies announced Tuesday, July 28, they've taken the final investment decision to develop the Cronos gas field off the coast of Cyprus, according to Dow Jones Newswires, Offshore Energy, and Rigzone. It's the first hydrocarbon project ever greenlit in Cypriot waters.

Cronos sits about 185 kilometers southwest of Cyprus in Block 6, in deep offshore water. Eni operates the block and owns 50%. TotalEnergies owns the other half. The field was discovered in 2022 and appraised in 2024, according to Offshore Energy.

Eni says the block holds more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. The plan is four subsea wells feeding a plateau production rate of roughly 500 million cubic feet a day, first gas expected in 2028.

None of that gas gets liquefied in Cyprus. It runs by subsea pipeline to Egypt, gets processed at the Eni-majority-owned Zohr field facilities, then liquefied at the Damietta LNG terminal on Egypt's Mediterranean coast before shipping out, mostly to Europe. Rigzone reports the output translates to about 2.8 million metric tons of LNG a year.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi called it a "concrete milestone in positioning Cyprus as a European gas producer and exporter," adding it "unlocks the establishment of a regional gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean by leveraging Egypt's existing hydrocarbon infrastructure," per Rigzone.

TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné framed it similarly, telling Offshore Energy the project would "contribute to Europe's energy security by diversifying its LNG supply sources" and fits his company's strategy of "prioritizing low-cost and low-emission projects."

Why Now

Dow Jones Newswires ties the timing directly to the Middle East conflict, which closed the Strait of Hormuz and once again exposed Europe's dependence on imported energy. That's on top of the multi-year scramble Europe has been running since cutting itself off from Russian gas following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Europe spent years lecturing the world on climate policy while quietly becoming more exposed to supply shocks from wherever it could still buy gas. Cronos is another patch on that problem, not a fix for it. The gas isn't even set to flow until 2028.

The Money Split

Each company will market 50% of the LNG volumes, about 1.4 million metric tons per year apiece. Eni says that pushes it toward its goal of exceeding 20 million tons per annum of contracted LNG by 2030. TotalEnergies is aiming for 60 million tons per annum in the same timeframe.

The host government agreement with Cyprus was signed back in February 2025, and Offshore Energy reports the commercial and contractual agreements covering Zohr's facilities, Egyptian transit, Damietta liquefaction, and LNG sales are all now in place.

The Bigger Eastern Mediterranean Picture

Eni and TotalEnergies aren't the only players carving up Cypriot waters. The two companies are also partners in Blocks 7, 8, and 11 offshore Cyprus, with TotalEnergies operating 7 and 11, and Eni operating Block 8 where TotalEnergies holds a 40% stake.

Meanwhile, in Cyprus Block 10, ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy are separately eyeing development that would also lean on Egyptian infrastructure. Rigzone reports the companies and the Egyptian government have signed a memorandum of understanding to "study future growth opportunities and flexible commercial frameworks," according to QatarEnergy.

TotalEnergies also noted the Cronos project could open the door to developing additional resources elsewhere in Block 6, which will get appraised in future campaigns, per Rigzone's reporting.

What's Actually Unresolved

First gas is targeted for 2028, two years out, which means plenty can still go sideways: cost overruns, permitting snags, or further disruption in the region that Cronos itself is partly a response to. Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey have sparred for years over Eastern Mediterranean drilling rights, and none of the three source reports address whether that broader dispute creates any risk to Cronos's subsea pipeline route or offshore blocks.