With appraisal out of the way, Eni and TotalEnergies mulling over development solution for gas discovery off Cyprus

Two European oil majors, Italy’s Eni and France’s TotalEnergies, are setting the wheels into motion to undertake a full evaluation of the hydrocarbon resources in a gas discovery offshore Cyprus to come up with a development solution for this project, which will enable them to boost the supply of gas not just in the region but also to Europe.

After the Cronos-1 well was spudded in May 2022, using Vantage Drilling’s Tungsten Explorer drillship, a significant gas discovery was confirmed in August 2022. The well was drilled in Block 6, 160 km off Cyprus’ coastline, in 2,287 meters of water depth. This block is operated by Eni with a 50% stake while TotalEnergies acts as the Italian player’s partner and holds the remaining 50% interest.

Both companies have confirmed the completion of the drilling activities and production test at the Cronos-2 well, which was drilled to appraise the Cronos discovery in Block 6. According to Eni, the production test allowed for the estimation of a well production capacity above 150 mmscfd in production configuration. This is seen as instrumental in progressing with the studies to select the best option to fast-track the development of Cronos.

Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Middle East & North Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, underlined: “The successful appraisal of the Cronos gas discovery confirms the presence of significant resources and production potential in Block 6. Full evaluation of the discovered resources will now be carried out to determine the best development option to contribute to supply gas to Europe and to the region.”

Since Cronos-2 was drilled to confirm the lateral extension of the Cronos gas discovery, located some 3 km away, and to assess the reservoir characteristics by performing a production test, the Italian oil and gas heavyweight explained that the well encountered the same carbonate reservoir sequence as Cronos-1, confirming hydraulic communication and connected thick gas column with excellent permeability intervals.

Furthermore, the full and prolonged production test proved the gas deliverability capacity of the discovery. Cronos-2, which encountered several carbonate reservoir intervals with a net reservoir thickness of 115 meters, is the fourth well drilled by Eni in Block 6, following the gas discoveries of Calypso in 2018 and Cronos and Zeus in 2022.

“Drilling Cronos-2 shortly after the discovery of Cronos confirms the commitment of Eni and its partner TotalEnergies, to progress swiftly towards the selection of the most suitable and economically viable development solution, which will contribute to the supply of gas to Europe and the region,” outlined Eni.

Eni has been present in Cyprus since 2013. Aside from Block 6, the firm operates blocks 2, 3, 8, and 9 in Cyprus. The company also has participating interests in blocks 7 and 11, operated by TotalEnergies. Recently, the French oil major sealed a deal to obtain a majority stake in the Tungsten Explorer drillship.