Cyprus Oil & Gas Timeline — 2007 to Today

Filter: 23 events

Jun 30, 2026 Infrastructure

Block 10 Fields Declared Commercial

Cyprus, ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy sign a Declaration of Commercial Discovery for the Glaucus and Pegasus fields (Block 10, ~8–9 tcf), moving them into the development phase. FID is anticipated around 2029 with production near 2033. The consortium also signals interest in Blocks 4 and "10A".

Glaucus Pegasus Block 10 ExxonMobil

Apr 14, 2026 Infrastructure

Egypt to Buy All Aphrodite Gas

Egypt (EGAS) agrees to purchase 100% of Aphrodite's output over a 15-year term, delivered via a new subsea pipeline to Port Said, with first gas targeted by 2030.

Aphrodite Chevron

Dec 22, 2025 Infrastructure

Aphrodite FEED Begins

Front-end engineering and design (FEED) work begins on the Aphrodite development, a key step toward a final investment decision.

Aphrodite Chevron

Dec 5, 2025 Policy

Michael Damianos Appointed Energy Minister

A cabinet reshuffle names Michael Damianos as Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, succeeding George Papanastasiou ahead of Cyprus's EU Council presidency in the first half of 2026.

Jul 7, 2025 Discovery

Pegasus Gas Discovery in Block 10

ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy announce the Pegasus-1 discovery in Block 10, drilled by the Valaris DS-9. Together with the neighbouring Glaucus field it is later estimated at 7–9 tcf and declared commercial in June 2026.

Pegasus Block 10 ExxonMobil

Apr 14, 2025 Discovery

Elektra-1 Finds Non-Commercial Gas

ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy's Elektra-1 well in Block 5 finds natural gas in non-commercial quantities but confirms a working hydrocarbon system and good-quality reservoirs. The rig then moves to Block 10.

Block 5 ExxonMobil

Feb 17, 2025 Infrastructure

Cronos Host Government Agreement Signed

Eni, Egypt and Cyprus (with TotalEnergies) sign a Host Government Agreement in Cairo to develop Cronos (Block 6): gas will be processed at Egypt's Zohr facilities and liquefied at Damietta LNG for export to Europe.

Cronos ENI

Feb 4, 2025 Infrastructure

Cyprus Approves Aphrodite Development Plan

Cyprus approves the updated Aphrodite (Block 12) development and production plan submitted by Chevron, Shell and NewMed Energy — a floating production unit with four initial wells and an export pipeline to Egypt, at an estimated cost of around $4 billion.

Aphrodite Chevron

Jan 31, 2025 License

Blocks 2, 3 and 9 Relinquished

The Eni-led licences for Blocks 2, 3 and 9 lapse at the end of their exploration term and are relinquished; Korea's KOGAS exits Cyprus entirely.

Block 2 ENI

Mar 15, 2024 Infrastructure

Aphrodite Development Plan Submitted

Chevron submits updated development plan for Aphrodite field, targeting first gas by 2027-2028.

Aphrodite Chevron

Dec 1, 2022 Discovery

Zeus Gas Discovery

ENI announces third discovery in Block 6 at Zeus-1 well, confirming Block 6 as Cyprus' most prolific exploration area.

Zeus Block 6 ENI

Aug 22, 2022 Discovery

Cronos Gas Discovery

ENI announces discovery at Cronos-1 well in Block 6, with preliminary estimates of 2.5 Tcf gas in place.

Cronos Block 6 ENI

Jun 15, 2022 Policy

EU Looks to Eastern Mediterranean Gas

European Commission President visits Cyprus to discuss accelerating gas development in response to energy security concerns following Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Jan 16, 2020 Policy

East Mediterranean Gas Forum Established

Cyprus becomes founding member of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), alongside Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, and Palestine.

Jul 15, 2019 Corporate

Chevron Acquires Noble Energy

Chevron announces acquisition of Noble Energy, becoming the new operator of Block 12 and the Aphrodite field.

Chevron Block 12 Aphrodite

Feb 28, 2019 Discovery

Glaucus Major Discovery

ExxonMobil announces Cyprus' largest gas discovery to date at Glaucus-1 well in Block 10, with estimated 5-8 Tcf of recoverable gas.

Glaucus Block 10 ExxonMobil

Feb 23, 2018 Policy

Turkey-Cyprus Drilling Dispute

Turkish navy blocks ENI's Saipem 12000 drillship from reaching Block 3, escalating regional tensions.

Block 3 ENI

Feb 8, 2018 Discovery

Calypso Gas Discovery

ENI announces significant gas discovery at Calypso prospect in Block 6, with reservoir characteristics similar to Egypt's Zohr field.

Calypso Block 6 ENI

Jul 12, 2017 Discovery

Onesiphoros West Discovery

TotalEnergies and ENI announce gas discovery at Onesiphoros West prospect in Block 11.

Onesiphoros West Block 11

Apr 5, 2017 License

Third Licensing Round Completed

Cyprus signs the 3rd licensing round contracts: Block 10 to ExxonMobil/Qatar Petroleum (5 April) and Blocks 6 and 8 to the Eni/TotalEnergies consortium and Eni respectively (6 April).

Block 6 Block 8 Block 10 ENI ExxonMobil TotalEnergies

Sep 10, 2013 Discovery

Aphrodite Appraisal Confirms Reserves

Noble Energy completes Aphrodite-2 appraisal well, confirming 3.5-4.5 Tcf of recoverable gas resources.

Aphrodite

Jan 24, 2013 License

Second Licensing Round Awards

Cyprus awards exploration licenses for Blocks 2, 3, and 9 to ENI/KOGAS consortium, expanding international interest in the EEZ.

Block 2 Block 3 Block 9 ENI

Dec 28, 2011 Discovery

Aphrodite Gas Field Discovered

Noble Energy announces major gas discovery in Block 12, marking Cyprus' entry into the Eastern Mediterranean gas arena. Initial estimates suggest 5-8 Tcf of gas in place.

Aphrodite Block 12

Related Resources

Cyprus Energy Review

Annual state of the sector