Egypt and TotalEnergies Discuss Accelerating Grid Connection for Cronos Gas Field to Start Production in 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 21, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held talks with Julien Pouget, Head of Exploration and Production for the Middle East and North Africa at France's TotalEnergies, on the sidelines of the 2026 Mediterranean Offshore Oil Conference in Alexandria, to discuss accelerating the connection works between Cyprus's Cronos gas field and Egypt's natural gas infrastructure. The two sides reviewed the progress of project implementation and discussed expanding investment in natural gas exploration and development in Egypt's Mediterranean waters.

The Cronos gas field is located in Block 6 offshore Cyprus, with Italy's Eni serving as operator, while TotalEnergies and Eni each hold a 50% interest. The project reached a final investment decision on July 28, 2026, and plans to develop the field's resources through 4 subsea production wells, with the target of starting production in 2028.

According to the published development plan, the natural gas produced from the field will be transported to Egypt via subsea pipeline, processed using the existing facilities at the Zohr gas field, and then sent to the Damietta LNG plant for liquefaction and export. The project plans to achieve a natural gas production rate of approximately 500 million cubic feet per day, corresponding to an annual LNG output of approximately 2.8 million tons.

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stated that the Egyptian government is coordinating engineering implementation arrangements with Eni, TotalEnergies and the Cypriot side to accelerate the cross-border gas transmission project. No new engineering contract amounts, pipeline construction mileage or specific construction start dates were announced at this meeting.