The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, is set to meet today with Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of the Italian energy company Eni, which is active in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This meeting is part of the President's official visit to Rome.

Yesterday, the President had consecutive meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Notably, regarding energy matters, the President mentioned that Prime Minister Meloni is very knowledgeable about the developments. She is in direct contact with Eni CEO Descalzi and is aware of a significant drilling operation underway in the Cypriot EEZ. Eni is involved in seven out of the ten licensed plots in the area. They agreed to further highlight the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean at a European level.

It is important to recall that the drilling rig Transocean Barrents set sail from Limassol in early November, heading towards the Kronos deposit. There, drilling for the Kronos-2 target in block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ will be conducted on behalf of Italian Eni, approximately 160 km southwest of Cyprus.

In August 2022, Eni announced the discovery of an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas at the Kronos-1 target. The company noted that there is potential for additional quantities, which will be further explored through additional research drillings in the area.