Licensing Rounds History

Cyprus has conducted four offshore licensing rounds since 2007, awarding 10 blocks to international oil companies. This page documents each round's results and key outcomes.

4
Rounds Completed
10
Blocks Awarded
6
Discoveries Made
2007
First Round
2007

First Licensing Round

1 block awarded

1 discovery

The first licensing round launched Cyprus offshore exploration. Block 12 was awarded to Noble Energy (now Chevron), leading to the Aphrodite discovery in 2011.

Blocks Awarded

Block 12
Noble Energy (Operator)

Resulting Discoveries

Aphrodite (2011)
2012

Second Licensing Round

3 blocks awarded

ENI and KOGAS consortium won three blocks in the second round, establishing ENI as a major player in Cyprus.

Blocks Awarded

Block 2
ENI (Operator) KOGAS
Block 3
ENI (Operator) KOGAS
Block 9
ENI (Operator) KOGAS
2016

Third Licensing Round

4 blocks awarded

4 discovery

Major round bringing ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies to Cyprus. Block 10 later yielded the giant Glaucus discovery.

Blocks Awarded

Block 6
ENI (Operator) TotalEnergies
Block 8
ENI (Operator) TotalEnergies
Block 10
ExxonMobil (Operator) Qatar Petroleum
Block 11
TotalEnergies (Operator) ENI

Resulting Discoveries

Calypso (2018) Glaucus (2019) Cronos (2022) Zeus (2022)
2019

Fourth Licensing Round

2 blocks awarded

The fourth round expanded ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies positions in Cyprus EEZ.

Blocks Awarded

Block 5
ExxonMobil (Operator) Qatar Petroleum
Block 7
TotalEnergies (Operator) ENI

Future Licensing Rounds

Three blocks remain open for future licensing: Block 1, Block 4, and Block 13. The timing of a fifth licensing round depends on government policy, market conditions, and ongoing development of existing discoveries.

Block 1 Block 4 Block 13

Key Takeaways

  • ENI is the largest license holder with interests in 5 blocks
  • The Third Round (2016) was most successful, yielding 4 major discoveries
  • Major IOCs (ExxonMobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, ENI) all hold Cyprus licenses
  • Consortiums are common, spreading risk in deepwater exploration
PSC Fiscal Terms View All Blocks