Cronos
Block 6Eni · TotalEnergies · 3.1 tcf GIIP
Plan approved
- 2027 FID & construction start
- 2028 First Cypriot gas
2028 first gas target
Cyprus & East Med gas, tracked to first gas
The independent record of every block, field, well and operator in the Cyprus EEZ, and of the decisions that move them.
Compiled from ministry filings, operator disclosures and the EU Official Journal. Edited by Yuri Kan. Open data under CC BY 4.0.
- blocks licensed
- 7 of 13 blocks licensed
- commercial gas fields
- 6 commercial gas fields
- wells drilled
- 15 wells drilled
- national headline figure
- 17–18 tcf national headline figure
Where 17–18 tcf comes from no document on file
National headline figure · Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry — ministerial statementsno document on file
The Republic's figure, given by the energy minister in statements and interviews since at least February 2024 — for five discoveries in three blocks, and repeated in July 2025 before Pegasus had a published quantity. No published document setting it out has been found.
- 7 licensed
- 3 relinquished
- 3 never awarded
- 7 gas fields
Block outlines from the EU Official Journal licensing-round notices 2007/C 100/10 and 2012/C 38/10; coastline from Natural Earth. Field positions are approximate where the operator has published none.
The road to first gas
Full trackerEvery commercial discovery sits on one of three development systems. Each card lists what is decided next on it, in the window announced.
Aphrodite
Block 12Chevron · Shell · NewMed · 2.9 tcf 2C
FEED running
- Late 2026 – 2027 Final investment decision
- ~2030–31 First gas to Port Said
2030–31 first gas target
Glaucus & Pegasus
Block 10ExxonMobil · QatarEnergy · 3.7 tcf GIIP for Glaucus; Pegasus unquantified
Declared commercial
- Late 2026 Pegasus appraisal
- ~2029 Hub FID
- ~2033 Production
~2033 production target
Also ahead
- H2 2029 Leviathan Phase 1B start-up
- No announced date Fourth licensing round
Updated October 2026 · Sources: Cyprus MECI, operator filings
Who holds what
All 13 blocksEvery licensed block in the Cyprus EEZ, its operator and its partners with their equity.
Change of control in train. Shell agreed to sell its 35% stake in Block 12 to MOL Group for up to US$720m, subject to customary adjustments and milestone-linked contingent payments.
Announced 31 July 2026. Not yet reflected in the ministry register, which still names Shell; register checked 6 October 2026.
| Block | Operator and partners | Licence area | Licensed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block 5 | ExxonMobil 60% operator QatarEnergy 40% | 3,416 km² | Licensed 10 Dec 2021 |
| Block 6 | Eni 50% operator TotalEnergies 50% | 3,420 km² | Licensed 6 Apr 2017 |
| Block 7 | TotalEnergies 50% operator Eni 50% | 4,560 km² | Licensed 18 Sept 2019 |
| Block 8 | Eni 60% operator TotalEnergies 40% † sources disagree | 4,560 km² | Licensed 6 Apr 2017 |
| Block 10 | ExxonMobil 60% operator QatarEnergy 40% | 1,927 km² | Licensed 5 Apr 2017 |
| Block 11 | TotalEnergies 50% operator Eni 50% | 1,472 km² | Licensed 6 Feb 2013 |
| Block 12 | Chevron 35%* operator Shell 35%* NewMed Energy 30%* | 386 km² exploitation | Licensed 24 Oct 2008 |
Operators and partners
- Eni Operates Blocks 6 and 8 Holds a stake in Blocks 7 and 11
- TotalEnergies Operates Blocks 7 and 11 Holds a stake in Blocks 6 and 8
- ExxonMobil Operates Blocks 5 and 10
- Chevron Operates Block 12
- QatarEnergy Holds a stake in Blocks 5 and 10
- Shell Holds a stake in Block 12
- NewMed Energy Holds a stake in Block 12
- MOL Group No licensed acreage today Buying a stake in Block 12, not yet registered
Licence areas · Cyprus Hydrocarbons Service, exploration activities, read 5 Oct 2026. Where one is smaller than the block as drawn in the licensing-round notice, part of the licence has been relinquished.
Equity is not published by the Hydrocarbons Service; each figure is sourced on its block page. * The source names a predecessor entity, or the share is the remainder of a published split. † Published sources disagree on the split. No licence term or expiry date is published for any block.
The basin in numbers
How each is derivedMeasures nobody publishes, computed from the well and field records on this site.
- discovery to FID, Cronos
- 5 yrdiscovery to FID, Cronos
- years with no well drilled, 2011–2025
- 4years with no well drilled, 2011–2025
- last dry hole
- 2018last dry hole
- of the national headline in Glaucus
- 21–22%of the national headline in Glaucus
- longest gap between discoveries
- 6 yrlongest gap between discoveries
- strike rate since the last dry hole
- 80%strike rate since the last dry hole
computed from this site's own well and field records, as of 6 Oct 2026
Latest wells
All 15 wells| Well | Spud year | Operator | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasus-1 | 2025 | ExxonMobil | Discovery |
| Elektra-1 | 2025 | ExxonMobil | Shows |
| Cronos-2 | 2023 | Eni | Discovery |
| Aphrodite-3 | 2023 | Chevron | Appraisal |
| Zeus-1 | 2022 | Eni | Discovery |
| Cronos-1 | 2022 | Eni | Discovery |
Why Cypriot gas leaves through Egypt
Egypt and the Cyprus linkCyprus has no liquefaction plant and no pipeline to a market. Egypt has both, about 90 km from Block 6: the Zohr facilities and Damietta LNG, whose idle capacity makes tolling Cypriot gas cheaper than building anything at home.
Cronos gas is to be tied back to Zohr and liquefied at Damietta for Europe; Aphrodite is to be piped to Egypt. Every sanctioned Cypriot export route runs through Egypt.
The export chain
All 7 assets- Damietta LNG Operational
LNG terminal, serves Cronos
- Vasilikos Power Station Operational
Power station
- Vasilikos LNG Import Terminal (CyprusGas2EU) Under construction
LNG terminal
- Aphrodite Subsea Development Planning
Processing, serves Aphrodite
- Aphrodite-to-Egypt Pipeline Planning
Pipeline, serves Aphrodite
- Block 6 Development Hub Planning
Processing, serves Cronos, Calypso, Zeus
- EastMed Pipeline Proposed
Pipeline, serves Aphrodite, Glaucus, Calypso
Regional fields Cyprus is measured against
All 5| Field | Country | Operator | Found | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaza Marine Palestinian territories, 2000 | Palestinian territories | — | 2000 | Undeveloped |
| Tamar Israel, Chevron, 2009 | Israel | Chevron | 2009 | Producing |
| Leviathan Israel, Chevron, 2010 | Israel | Chevron | 2010 | Producing |
| Karish & Tanin Israel, Energean, 2013 | Israel | Energean | 2013 | Producing |
| Zohr Egypt, Eni, 2015 | Egypt | Eni | 2015 | Producing |
Latest news
All newsStories linked to a block, field or company on this site.
Offshore Engineer·2d ago·1 min read
Chevron, Egypt Ink Fiscal Agreement for Aphrodite Gas Project
The signing of a fiscal framework between Chevron and the Egyptian government marks a definitive shift for the Aphrodite project, moving it closer to a Final Investment Decision (FID) than ever before
Aphrodite development might be best left on hold, warns analyst
Cyprus MailChevron Corporation
Leviathan's Israeli Owners Cancel $6.7B Domestic Supply Deal
RigzoneChevron Corporation
Chevron and Egypt discuss next steps to speed up Mediterranean gas project
Offshore EnergyChevron Corporation
Christodoulides calls for ‘development’ of Cyprus’ natural gas ‘as soon as possible’
Cyprus MailExxonMobil
History doesn’t stand still, and neither can Europe, Italian Ambassador says
In-CyprusCronos
Eni divests 10% stake in Côte d’Ivoire’s Baleine oilfield to SOCAR
Offshore TechnologyENI S.p.A.
Questions people ask
All questionsHow much natural gas has been discovered in Cyprus?
Cyprus has estimated natural gas reserves of roughly 17–18 trillion cubic feet (tcf) across 6 offshore discoveries in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to the government's headline figure (a government figure given in ministerial statements since February 2024; no published document states it). The largest is the Glaucus–Pegasus complex in Block 10, declared a commercial discovery in June 2026. No single audited figure covers it: the ministry publishes 3.7 Tcf gas-in-place for Glaucus alone, ExxonMobil announced 5–8 tcf for Glaucus-1 before appraisal, and larger numbers for the two fields combined have been quoted only in remarks relayed through the press. Aphrodite holds 3.7 tcf of 2C total contingent resources (Block 12) and Cronos 3.1 tcf gas-in-place (Block 6).
Who are the main operators in Cyprus EEZ?
4 international oil companies hold operatorship of Cyprus's 7 licensed blocks: ExxonMobil operates Blocks 5 and 10, Eni operates Blocks 6 and 8, TotalEnergies operates Blocks 7 and 11, Chevron operates Block 12. Eni and TotalEnergies also hold stakes in each other's blocks, so each participates in more blocks than it operates. QatarEnergy, Shell and NewMed Energy hold non-operating stakes; Shell's Block 12 stake is under an announced sale to MOL Group that is not yet reflected in the ministry register. Blocks 2, 3 and 9 were relinquished in January 2025.
When will Cyprus start exporting natural gas?
Cronos (Block 6) is furthest along: its development plan was approved in May 2026 for export via Egypt's Damietta LNG plant at ~5 bcm/yr, with FID imminent and first gas targeted for 2028. Aphrodite's FID is targeted for late 2026–2027 after Egypt initialed a 15-year deal for its entire output via a new pipeline to Port Said — first gas around 2030–31. Block 10 (Glaucus and Pegasus) was declared commercial on 30 June 2026, with FID anticipated around 2029 and production around 2033.
How many exploration blocks are in Cyprus EEZ?
The Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone is divided into 13 exploration blocks covering approximately 51,000 km² of offshore territory south of the island. As of mid-2026, 7 blocks are licensed to international operators (Blocks 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12) after Blocks 2, 3 and 9 were relinquished in January 2025.
What is the Aphrodite gas field?
Aphrodite is Cyprus' first major offshore gas discovery, found in Block 12 in 2011 by Noble Energy (now Chevron). The February 2026 NSAI report puts contingent resources at ~2.9 tcf for the sanctioned first phase (~3.7 tcf total). It is operated by Chevron in partnership with Shell and NewMed Energy; Shell's Block 12 stake is under an announced sale to MOL Group that is not yet reflected in the ministry register. In April 2026 Egypt initialed a 15-year term sheet for the field's entire output, making Aphrodite central to Cyprus' gas export strategy.
Everything on this site
Nine families of records, with live counts.
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