Cronos field: Eni signs the main contracts in Nicosia, with first Cypriot gas in 2028 through Egypt

The development of the first hydrocarbon field of the Republic of Cyprus is moving from plans to construction. Italy’s Eni signed on Monday, October 26, the main engineering, procurement, construction and drilling contracts for the Cronos natural gas field in Block 6 of Cyprus’s EEZ. The company announced it in a press release from San Donato Milanese.

The execution phase was formally launched at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. Attending were President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Michael Damianos, and Guido Brusco, Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources. The Presidency published photographs of the President’s meeting with the company’s delegation and of the signing.

What the contracts cover

The awarded contracts include the floating control unit, transport and installations, the subsea pipelines and flexible lines, the subsea production system and umbilicals, the onshore line under an EPC contract, and drilling-rig services. The signatures come three months after the final investment decision (FID), taken on July 28, 2026.

Reserves, production and timetable

The field’s gas resources are estimated at more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place, about 85 billion cubic metres. Production is expected to reach a plateau of up to 500 million standard cubic feet a day (about 14 million cubic metres). First production is placed in the first half of 2028.

The development will proceed on a fast-track basis, relying on regional integration and the use of existing infrastructure. Cronos gas will be transported to Egypt, where it will be processed at existing facilities, among them the Zohr infrastructure, before being liquefied at the Damietta LNG plant. From there it will be exported to international markets, mainly Europe.

What it means for Cyprus

Cronos is Eni’s first development project in Cyprus and the country’s first hydrocarbon production project. The company calls it a strategic milestone for the Republic of Cyprus, which will support its emergence as a producer and exporter of natural gas and strengthen the integration of Eastern Mediterranean energy systems, making use of existing Egyptian gas and LNG infrastructure.

Eni has been active in Cyprus since 2013. It operates Block 6 with a 50% stake, with TotalEnergies as partner. It also operates Block 8 and participates in Blocks 7 and 11, where TotalEnergies is the operator. Cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt on Cronos was also at the centre of the recent push to accelerate energy projects between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, and Cairo has said it will lift every obstacle to the transport of Cypriot gas.