Energy Triangle

On Wednesday, Cypriot Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry George Papanastasiou and Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla discussed how to strengthen cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt in the field of energy. 

The drilling by Italian energy giant ENI in the Cronos-2 field in Block 6 of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) appears to have discovered another natural gas reservoir, with sources telling the Cyprus News Agency that gas flaring was successfully carried out on Thursday.

The Greek Cyprus government and U.S. energy company Chevron have reached a deal on how to develop the Aphrodite gas field, the first to be discovered under the seafloor off Cyprus, an official Friday. The field is estimated to hold 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Cyprus hopes to develop plans for a pipeline linking it to Israel's east Mediterranean gas fields during talks which start next month, the island's top energy official told Reuters.

Proposals by the new centrist Cypriot government, which came to power in March, represent a markedly different approach to its predecessors in getting gas to Europe and other markets.

Cyprus' minister of energy, George Papanastasiou, has affirmed Nicosia's commitment to proceed with its plans for transporting natural gas from the region, both for domestic electricity generation and for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, despite geopolitical reactions.

Oil and gas company Chevron is "positive" about an Israeli-Cypriot plan for a pipeline that would convey offshore natural gas from both countries to Cyprus where it would be liquefied for export by ship to Europe and elsewhere, an official said Friday.

The eastern Mediterranean can provide a key energy corridor to Europe through a planned electricity cable connecting the power grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel and a potential natural gas pipeline, the three countries' top diplomats said Friday.

Energy group Edison plans to take the final investment decision (FID) on a proposed pipeline to deliver East Mediterranean gas to European markets by the end of this year, the Italian project developer told Reuters.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine more than 6 months ago has caused a dramatic spike in natural gas prices and caused repeated energy shocks in Europe. The EU has accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon, while Russia denies this and blames western sanctions for the drop in exports.

A major gas discovery in the Cronos-1 field, block 6 offshore Cyprus has been announced by energy companies TotalEnergies and ENI.

According to ENI's official announcement, preliminary estimates in the Cronos-1 field of block 6 indicate the existence of 2.5 tcf of natural gas.