Cronos gets DPP approval on eve of elections

The Cyprus cabinet has finally approved, just days before crucial parliamentary elections, the development and production plan for the 3.1 tcf Cronos gas field, paving the way for partners Eni and TotalEnergies to take a final investment decision (FID) and first natural gas exports within two years. The Cronos offshore field is located in Block 6 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), approximately 160 km southwest of the island. Discovered in 2022 by operator Eni and its 50% partner TotalEnergies, it is a crucial deep-water deposit estimated to hold over 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The output from Cronos is slated for offshore production with planned pipeline connections transporting the natural gas south to Egypt’s LNG processing facilities, and from there for export to Europe. The Cyprus government’s earlier refusal to sign off on the DPP due to concerns over project liabilities had threatened to derail the project, a leading energy journal reported last week. According to the MEES report, those concerns have not been fully met, but President Nikos Christodoulides saw more merit in giving the project the green light rather than chasing optimal commercial terms. The decision came days ahead of parliamentary elections due on May 24, and the president has not missed the opportunity to present it as a long-awaited breakthrough for Cyprus’ gas ambitions after years of delays. Nicosia’s decision to approve the DPP was also hailed by Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi who was speaking at a strategic seminar of the Egyptian-British Business Association (BEBA) in Cairo on Wednesday. Gas from Cronos will be piped to Egypt, and most of it is to be re-exported from the Eni-operated 5 mln t/y DLNG export facility at Damietta, the MEES report added. Eni has previously said it will take between two and two and a half years from FID to achieve first gas, implying the second half of 2028, if FID is taken promptly. Discovered in 2022, Cronos is now on track to become Cyprus’ first producing gas field. Although the Chevron-operated 3.7 tcf Aphrodite field was discovered in 2011, adjacent to Israel’s Leviathan, first gas is not expected until 2031. Eni’s preference in October 2024 for developing the field was via “tieback” to its under-utilised Zohr gas facilities on the other side of the maritime border with Egypt, around 60km further south. At the time, Total also tabled the idea of a floating LNG (FLNG) facility to process the gas directly over the field. The post Cronos gets DPP approval on eve of elections appeared first on Financial Mirror.