TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) of France and Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI) have declared a major gas discovery. TotalEnergies and ENI, on Monday, announced that a significant natural gas has been discovered at the Cronos-1 well off Cyprus.
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“Preliminary estimates indicate about 2.5 tcf of gas in place, with significant additional upside that will be investigated by a further exploration well in the area,” Eni said in a statement regarding the latest discovery.
It marks the third offshore gas find reported in Cyprus, all of them still untapped, and comes as the European Union seeks an alternative supply to Russian gas after Moscow’s February invasion of Ukraine.
The island was divided after a 1974 Turkish invasion in response to a brief Greek inspired coup.
“This successful exploration well at Cronos-1 is another illustration of the impact of our exploration strategy which is focused on discovering resources with low technical cost and low carbon emissions, said Kevin McLachlan, senior vice president for exploration at TotalEnergies.
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He said additional sources of gas supply would contribute to Europe’s energy security.
“Studies on fast-track development options are already ongoing,” Eni said.
TotalEnergies and Eni began drilling work at the Cronos-1 prospect in offshore Block 6 in May.
They are collaborating via local units Eni Cyprus and TotalEnergies EP Cyprus BV and each holds a 50% stake.
The island reported its first natural gas discovery, Aphrodite, in 2011, measuring around 4.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and is now run by U.S. energy firm Chevron (CVX.N).
