Eni announced that it has discovered an important gas reserve about 160 kilometers off the coast of Cyprus with the Cronos-1 well, in Block 6, at a water depth of 2,287 meters. The block is operated by Eni Cyprus with a 50% stake. TotalEnergies is partner with the remaining 50%. Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 2.5 TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas in place, with significant additional potential that will be assessed with an additional exploration well. The well encountered a major gas column in a carbonate reservoir rock sequence with fair to excellent properties. The intense data acquisition campaign highlighted an overall net pay of over 260 meters with intervals characterized by excellent permeability. Engineering studies are already underway for an accelerated development of the discovery.
The Cronos-1 well is the fourth exploration well drilled by Eni Cyprus and the second in Block 6, after the Calypso-1 gas discovery in 2018. The discovery of Cronos-1 creates the conditions to lead to further potential volumes of gas in the region and represents one of the actions achieved by Eni to support the supply of additional gas to Europe. This discovery confirms the effectiveness of Eni’s exploration strategy, aimed at creating value through the deep knowledge of geological basins and the application of proprietary geophysical technologies. Eni has been present in Cyprus since 2013. The company operates blocks 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9, and holds stakes in blocks 7 and 11 operated by TotalEnergies.