Agreements on getting Cyprus natural gas to market via Egypt hailed as energy cooperation milestone

NICOSIA, Cyprus — A pair of agreements outlining how sizeable natural gas deposits inside Cypriot waters will get to market via processing facilities in Egypt are a milestone for energy cooperation, Cyprus' president said Monday.

President Nikos Christodoulides said the cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt is helping to define the regional energy map, calling the agreements ''game-changers'' that are ''pivotal for our strategic partnership.''

The first agreement between Egypt, Cyprus and a consortium made up of energy companies Total of France and Italy's Eni foresees piping natural gas from a deposit known as Cronos to Egyptian facilities where it will be liquefied and processed for export to markets including Europe.

The Eni-Total consortium, which holds exploratory licenses for four of the 13 areas or blocks inside Cyprus' offshore economic zone, will make a final decision on how it will extract and convey the gas before the summer this year.

Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi called the agreement a decisive step toward creating an energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean.

Officials haven't disclosed how large the Cronos deposit is, but it's believed to hold more than the Aphrodite deposit — the first gas field discovered inside Cyprus' exclusive economic zone in 2011 — that's estimated to contain 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The second agreement between Egypt Cyprus and a consortium composed of Chevron, NewMed Energy and Shell sets out the framework under which the Aphrodite deposit will be developed and monetized.

The Aphrodite deal comes three days after the Cypriot government and the Chevron-led consortium approved a revised development and production plan for the deposit that includes a floating platform that processes extracted natural gas as well as a pipeline link to Egypt.

Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said last month the options of whether to use Aphrodite gas for Egypt's domestic energy needs or to process it for export are still being weighed.

Christodoulides also held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the two countries' next energy cooperation goals as well as regional developments.

Christodoulides also met on the sidelines of Egypt's energy exhibition EGYPES 2025 with ExxonMobil's Vice President for Global Exploration John Ardill.

ExxonMobil and partners Qatar Petroleum, which hold exploration licenses for two Cypriot blocks, are currently drilling a new well near the existing Glaucus deposit which is estimated to contain 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Papanastasiou has said there are ''positive'' indications of natural gas quantities at the new Elektra well, also in Cypriot waters, with preliminary results expected in early April.