Thirteen blocks.
Three hold everything.
Cyprus divided its Exclusive Economic Zone into 13 offshore blocks. 7 are licensed, 3 were handed back in January 2025, and 3 have never been awarded at all. Every commercial discovery to date sits in just three of them.
7 licensed 4 operators, 28,390 km²
3 open acreage never awarded, 9,920 km²
3 handed back terms lapsed Jan 2025
6 discoveries all inside Blocks 6, 10, 12
Sources: MECI, CHC, operator announcements EU OJ COORDINATES
The EEZ at a glance Positions derived from the official block polygons — open the map for true geometry
Licensed Open Handed back Gas discovered
Block 10 is among the smallest blocks in the zone at 2,560 km² — and holds more gas than the other twelve combined.
Where the gas is
Three blocks hold all 6 commercial discoveries — and all three development tracks.
Block 10 ExxonMobil 60% · QatarEnergy 40%
Biggest prize Glaucus · Pegasus
Declared commercial 30 June 2026. Estimated 7–9 tcf combined — appraisal drilling starts late 2026. 2,560 km²
2017 licensed
~2033 production
Block 6 Eni 50% · TotalEnergies 50%
First gas Calypso · Cronos · Zeus
Three finds in the Zohr-type carbonate play. Cronos is tied back to Egypt and targets first Cypriot gas in 2028. 4,570 km²
2017 licensed
2028 first gas
Block 12 Chevron 35% · Shell 35% · NewMed Energy 30%
The first Aphrodite
Licensed in 2008, discovered in 2011, still not producing. Egypt has contracted the full output; FID is due late 2026–27. 4,600 km²
2008 licensed
2030–31 first gas
Three blocks have never been awarded
Blocks 1, 4, 13 — 9,920 km² in total — have sat outside every licensing round since 2007. Block 1 is the largest single block in the entire zone. With the province de-risked by 6 discoveries and three blocks freshly returned, the case for a fourth round keeps building.
Licensing framework and past rounds →All thirteen
Showing 13 of 13 blocks
| Block | Status | Operator | Area | Discoveries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block 1 | Open | — | 5,740 | — | View → |
| Block 10 | Licensed | ExxonMobil | 2,560 | 2 | View → |
| Block 11 | Licensed | TotalEnergies | 2,960 | 1 | View → |
| Block 12 | Licensed | Chevron | 4,600 | 1 | View → |
| Block 13 | Open | — | 1,440 | — | View → |
| Block 2 | Relinquished | Eni | 4,740 | — | View → |
| Block 3 | Relinquished | Eni | 3,510 | — | View → |
| Block 4 | Open | — | 2,740 | — | View → |
| Block 5 | Licensed | ExxonMobil | 4,560 | — | View → |
| Block 6 | Licensed | Eni | 4,570 | 3 | View → |
| Block 7 | Licensed | TotalEnergies | 4,570 | — | View → |
| Block 8 | Licensed | Eni | 4,570 | — | View → |
| Block 9 | Relinquished | Eni | 4,280 | — | View → |