Italy's "Eni" and France's "Total Energies" have made a final investment decision on the development of the "Kronos" gas field located on the offshore shelf of Cyprus.

This project is assessed as one of the key initiatives to diversify Italy's energy supply and expand its natural gas sources. Currently, the country imports approximately 95% of the natural gas it consumes. One of the main gas suppliers for Italy is Algeria.

According to preliminary estimates, the reserves of the "Kronos" gas field encompass over 85 billion cubic meters of natural gas. This project is also of strategic importance for Cyprus, marking the country's first major industrial-scale natural gas development project in its history.

The project plans to drill four deep-sea gas wells. It is also envisioned to extract an average of 14.16 million cubic meters of natural gas per day.

According to experts, the launch of the "Kronos" gas field will not only increase the reliability of Italy's energy supply but also further strengthen the position of the Eastern Mediterranean region in the energy sector.