Cyprus and Egypt have finalized two historic energy agreements to fast-track Cyprus natural gas exports to Europe via Egyptian liquefaction plants, reshaping the Eastern Mediterranean’s role in global energy markets. President Nikos Christodoulides hailed the deals as
“game-changers for regional stability and Europe’s energy diversification”during talks with Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
The agreements involve:
- A Total-Eni consortium developing the Cronos field, with gas piped to Egypt for processing into LNG
- A Chevron-Shell-NewMed partnership monetizing the Aphrodite reservoir via a floating platform linked to Egyptian infrastructure
Officials confirmed Cronos holds over 4.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) – surpassing Aphrodite’s 2011 discovery – though exact figures remain undisclosed. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi emphasized the deal’s strategic value:
“This transforms the Eastern Mediterranean into a unified energy hub, not isolated projects.”
Cyprus Energy Minister George Papanastasiou noted ongoing evaluations to split Aphrodite’s output between Egypt’s domestic needs and European exports. Simultaneously, ExxonMobil drills the Elektra well near the 5-8 tcf Glaucus field, with preliminary results expected by April 2024.
The partnerships resolve critical infrastructure gaps by leveraging Egypt’s underutilized LNG plants at Idku and Damietta. Analysts predict these deals could supply 10% of Europe’s LNG imports by 2030, reducing reliance on Russian pipelines. The Total-Eni consortium will finalize extraction methods by mid-2024, using either pipelines or offshore platforms.