Egypt and Cyprus have signed a series of agreements to transfer natural gas from Cyprus’ Cronos offshore field to Egypt, marking a significant step toward linking Cypriot gas resources to Egypt’s infrastructure and boosting energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The agreements outline the operational and commercial frameworks for transporting, processing, and liquefying natural gas for export through Egypt’s existing facilities, including provisions for supply and tariff arrangements.
Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi and Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou attended the signing ceremony on October 21, held on the sidelines of the East Mediterranean Energy Conference and Exhibition (EMC) in Limassol.
Badawi said that the signing of these agreements crowns the successful understandings between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, which aim to enhance bilateral cooperation and expedite the linkage of Cypriot gas fields to Egypt’s gas network.
He added that the agreements consolidate Egypt’s position as a regional hub for natural gas trade and distribution in the East Mediterranean, while also supporting Cyprus’ efforts to utilize and export its natural gas resources through Egyptian infrastructure.
An initial tariff agreement for the Cronos field project was signed between Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry and international partners Eni and TotalEnergies. The French oil major is developing Block 6 at the Cronos gas field in a 50-50 joint venture with Italy's Eni, which will operate the project.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed El Bajoury, Acting Head of the Central Legal Affairs Department at the ministry, alongside Eni Cyprus General Manager Alessandro Gelmetti and TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Cyprus General Manager Pascal Breant.
A separate agreement covering the handling, processing, and transportation of gas from the Cronos field was signed by Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Chairman Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, IEOC Production General Manager Francesco Gasparri, Eni Cyprus’ Gelmetti, and TotalEnergies’ Breant.
The Cronos field, located in Block 6 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, was discovered in 2022 by Eni and TotalEnergies and is expected to feed gas into Egypt’s network for liquefaction and export to international markets once development plans and final investment decisions are approved.