A landmark deal signed in Cairo on Monday opens the way for the export of natural gas from Cyprus’ Kronos and Aphodite offshore deposits exported to Egypt.
The Egyptian and Cypriot sides signed a relevant MoU on the sidelines of the EGYPES 2025 event.
The deal envisions the export of the natural gas to the Egyptian coastal LNG stations of Damietta and Idku.
Indicative of the significance of the bilateral energy agreement is the fact that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides attended the MoU signing ceremony.
The Aphrodite gas field, discovered in 2011, lies off the southern coast of the east Mediterranean island in the exploratory drilling block 12 of its EEZ, and adjacent to an Israeli field. It is estimated to contain 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Chevron Cyprus Ltd. possess 35% of the field’s exploitation, along with BG Cyprus Limited (Shell) 35%, and NewMed Energy, 30%.
The MoU towards a final agreement is deemed as very beneficial for Egypt, given the rapid decline in its domestic natgas production over the past two years, with the latter falling in June 2024 to the lowest levels since 2017.
Christodoulides took to his Facebook page on Monday to praise the development:
