Nicosia: The intergovernmental agreement between Cyprus and Israel concerning the management of the ‘Aphrodite-Ishai’ gas reservoir is now in its final drafting phase, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou announced during the 13th Energy Symposium in Nicosia. The Minister revealed that the text of the agreement is ‘essentially finalised,’ with the latest draft, including Cyprus’ comments, sent to Israel last week. Both countries aim to sign the agreement by the end of the year.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the arrangement under negotiation will outline the management of the small section of the Aphrodite reservoir that extends into the ‘Ishai’ area, covering quantities of natural gas potentially located within Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Papanastasiou highlighted that the agreement will establish a compensation mechanism for the Israeli side for their share.
Turning to broader developments in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, Papanastasiou mentioned significant progress over the past year, contributing to stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and creating prospects for exporting natural gas to European markets. Some quantities may potentially be used for domestic consumption in the future.
Outlining Cyprus’ energy development plan, the Minister emphasized the need for suitable infrastructure to exploit the island’s discoveries, as fields are located in different parts of the EEZ. He identified the ‘Kronos’ field in Block 6 as the first expected to be developed due to its proximity to Egypt’s existing ‘Zohr’ infrastructure. The field can be linked with an underwater pipeline to Egypt for onshore processing and subsequent export as LNG from Damietta.
Regarding the ‘Aphrodite’ field, Papanastasiou noted that development is at an advanced stage with the operator coordinating efforts with other licensees. Unlike ‘Kronos’, Aphrodite will employ a floating processing unit located directly above the reservoir, with gas transported to a landfall point near Port Said and integrated into Egypt’s pipeline network.
The Minister recalled that Cyprus and Egypt have signed several energy agreements and memoranda of cooperation, with technical preparations for gas transport and processing well advanced. He stated that the first natural gas from Kronos is expected by late 2027, a timeline he described as optimistic but realistic.
For the first time, Cypriot gas fields are progressing toward concrete agreements enabling their actual development, allowing Cyprus to bring its offshore resources to production. On the commercial front, Papanastasiou mentioned ongoing negotiations for the sale of gas from ‘Kronos’, stressing that project economics will depend on the agreed sales price. Cyprus is seeking a price that ensures project viability.
While Cyprus currently lacks infrastructure to use natural gas directly, the Minister did not rule out the possibility of future LNG cargoes from Damietta being transported to Cyprus for regasification and domestic use, leveraging the LNG terminal under development at Vasilikos.
He also mentioned the memorandum of understanding between Energean and Cyfield for potential supply of natural gas to Cyprus via a pipeline from Israeli fields, noting that these projects are under evaluation. Two proposals are currently on the table, awaiting government assessment to determine the optimal path for importing natural gas into Cyprus.