McDermott secured its first subsea contract with Eni Cyprus Limited to participate in the development of the Cronos gas field, located in deep waters of Block 6 off Cyprus, McDermott values the award at between 500 and 750 million dollars it includes project management, engineering, procurement, and installation support services. The agreement brings the US company into the development of Cyprus’s first gas project, with production scheduled to begin in 2028.
McDermott will carry out underwater work for the Cronos project
The Cronos field is located approximately at 185 kilometers southwest of the coast of Cyprus the deposit was discovered in 2022 and assessed in 2024, while the final investment decision was announced in July 2026. With this new contract, McDermott will participate in various stages necessary to develop the subsea infrastructure. Execution will be carried out by its Subsea and Floating Installations team, with resources and specialists located in Houston, Perth, London, and Kuala Lumpur.
The operations will also be supported by the company’s offshore construction fleet, this capability will allow for the coordination of engineering, procurement, and the work associated with the installation of the systems necessary to bring the gas field into production. Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’s Senior Vice President of Subsea and Floating Installations, highlighted the company’s integrated engineering, procurement, construction, and subsea installation capabilities, he also emphasized the importance of global teams and local partnerships in executing the project.
Four wells will produce the gas from Cronos
Furthermore, the development of Cronos includes four underwater wells and by partially utilizing existing energy infrastructure in Egypt, this scheme will connect Cypriot production with processing and export facilities available in the region, the extracted gas will be transported via a underwater gas pipeline from Cyprus to Egypt once there, the hydrocarbon it will be processed at the Zohr facilities before continuing to the Damietta LNG terminal. Subsequently, the processed gas will be liquefied for export to international markets, with Europe among its main destinations. In this way, the project will combine new underwater production in Mediterranean with existing infrastructure already operating in Egyptian territory.
Cronos aims to begin production in 2028
The schedule also anticipates that production at the Cronos field will begin in 2028 at its maximum level, the project could reach around 500 million cubic feet of gas per day that volume is approximately equivalent to 2.8 million tons of LNG per year, according to the communicated plan for the project, TotalEnergies it will market 50% of that volume. McDermott’s subsea contract with Eni thus expands the US company’s activity in the eastern Mediterranean. For Cronos, the award incorporates offshore engineering and execution capabilities at a crucial stage before the planned start of gas production in 2028.
Source: Offshore Energy
Photo: Shutterstock
