The Minister of Energy, Michalis Damianou, speaking to the Parliamentary Energy Committee, confirmed the report by Politis that Eni will announce the final investment decision (FID) for the Kronos gas field by the end of March.
He stated that once pending matters under negotiation are resolved, the consortium will be in a position to make official announcements.
Plans foresee that natural gas from the field will be transported via the Egyptian Zohr field for processing before being exported to the European market. The timeline places the start of gas flow at the end of 2027 or within the first half of 2028.
The government’s priority, he emphasised, is to commence production as soon as possible in order to generate revenues and strategic benefits for the Republic of Cyprus. The issue of diversifying routes and markets remains under consideration; however, at this stage, using existing Egyptian infrastructure is seen as the most mature and commercially viable option.
Aphrodite
Regarding the Aphrodite field and the dispute with Israel, Damianou noted that an Israeli delegation is currently in Cyprus for intensive negotiations to finalise the agreement on the Isai field, which is expected to be concluded within the next one to two months.
Ministry of Energy official, Achilleas Sotirelis, informed the Committee that the Pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) for the project was completed last February. The project has now entered the final detailed design phase, FEED, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The final investment decision for Aphrodite is expected in 2027.