The Cypriot government has approved the Development and Production Plan (DPP) for the Aphrodite field located offshore Cyprus in the country’s block 12 submitted by Chevron Shell and NewMed. The project comprises a Floating Production Unit in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and a pipeline for exporting gas to Egypt. Discovered in 2011, the Aphrodite field is located 60 km south of Limassol, and 30 km northwest of the Leviathan field, in an area where sea depth is 1,700 m. The A-2 appraisal well, drilled in 2023, confirmed around 98 bcm of contingent resource with a potential for an additional 26 bcm of prospective resources. The Aphrodite field is operated by Chevron (35%), together with Shell (35%) and Israel’s NewMed (30%).
In addition, the Cypriot and Egyptian governments as well as Eni and TotalEnergies have signed the Host Government Agreement for the exploitation of Cyprus’ Cronos Block 6 resources. Under the agreement, the gas will be transported and processed in existing Zohr facilities in the Egyptian Exclusive Economic Zone to be then liquefied in the Damietta LNG plant for export to European markets. Discovered in 2022 and subsequently appraised in 2024, Cronos gas in place is estimated at more than 3 tcf (85 bcm). Block 6 is operated by Eni with a 50% stake in partnership with TotalEnergies (50%).
Finally, BP has announced the start of production from the second development phase of the Raven field, offshore Egypt, which involves the subsea tieback of additional Raven infill wells to its existing onshore infrastructure as part of the West Nile Delta (WND) project. The new wells are expected to produce approximately 220 bcf (6.2 bcm) of gas and 7 mbl of condensate. The project was safely executed ahead of schedule, allowing for an accelerated start of production. BP, the operator, holds an 82.75% stake in the project, while Harbour Energy owns the remaining 17.25%.