Nicosia, Cyprus — Cyprus and Egypt on Monday signed an agreement with an energy consortium to export gas from the Mediterranean island’s offshore fields to Europe after being processed in the North African country.
Egypt, alongside Italian energy giant Eni and France’s TotalEnergies, have agreed to “collaborate to commercialise the natural gas reserves discovered within” an offshore area known as Block 6, reads a statement from the government of Cyprus.
It is the first such agreement of its kind signed by Cyprus.
The gas will be transported and processed in Egypt at “existing Zohr facilities to be then liquefied in the Damietta (liquified natural gas) LNG plant for export to European markets”, according to a statement from ENI.
Europe has been seeking alternative sources of natural gas since Russia invaded Ukraine almost three years ago.
Cyprus, which has aspirations of becoming a major energy player in the region, has been exploring natural gas deposits around the eastern Mediterranean island.
The agreement was signed in Cairo in the presence of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Cyprus’s President Nikos Christodoulides.
The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on Cyprus’s Aphrodite gas field with Chevron Cyprus, NewMed Energy and BG Cyprus.
The Cypriot government said the agreement “establishes the framework for the efficient commercialization of the natural gas extracted from the field.”
