Egypt and Cyprus Sign Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Gas

On Monday, Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework for?cooperation in gas during the Egypt 2026?Energy?Show.

A spokesperson for the Cypriot Presidency said that the nonbinding agreement would be the basis on which the two countries could negotiate further agreements to exploit Cyprus' reserves.

A Cypriot official said that the agreement would allow Egypt and Egypt's state-owned firms to purchase natural gas from Cyprus's offshore Kronos and Aphrodite fields.

Cypriot officials claim that they may be able to begin extracting gas from Kronos in 2027 or 2028. Egypt and Cyprus signed an agreement last year to export gas from Cyprus offshore fields to Egypt, for liquefaction, and then re-exporting to Europe. Both countries are trying to strengthen the Eastern Mediterranean as a hub of energy. Egypt has suffered the fallout from the Iran War, particularly in the energy sector. It is dependent on imported fuel. The disruption in oil and gas trade and production across the Middle East has caused costs to skyrocket. The government has already raised the cost of fuel and public transport and announced a "work-from home" policy. It also ordered that most malls, shops, and restaurants close at 9 pm five days a weeks. Reporting by Mohamed Ezz, Michele Kambas and Chizu Nomiyama; Editing By David Goodman

(source: Reuters)