Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter European majors Eni and TotalEnergies have made another large natural gas discovery offshore Cyprus, where development of a series of significant finds is complicated by overlapping claims to offshore acreage. The partners estimate they have hit as much as 2.5 Tcf of natural gas in place with the Cronos-1 well on Block 6 about 160 kilmeters (99 miles) southwest of the Mediterranean island. Block 6 was already home to Eni and Total's 2018 Calypso discovery that is estimated to hold between 2 Tcf and 5 Tcf of gas. Eni and Total pledged to follow up Cronos with an appraisal well on Block 6 to determine the best way to develop the find, which Eni has pledged to "fast-track." However, the technical aspects of the discovery are likely less tricky than the political ones. Including Cronos, operators like Eni, Exxon Mobil and Chevron have discovered as much as 18 Tcf of gas offshore Cyprus and are considering a range of possible development schemes, including floating LNG and sending gas to Egypt by pipeline to take advantage of existing liquefaction capacity there. However, competing claims between Cyprus, Turkey and Israel over portions of the fields have complicated negotiations between partners over how to bring the discoveries into production.
