Natural gas agreements set to be signed between Cyprus and Egypt next month are among the most important ever signed by the island over the exploitation of natural gas fields, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said on Saturday.
His Egyptian counterpart Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi described the signing of the bilateral agreements as a very important milestone and expressed his country’s readiness to move to the next level to “unlock the potential of the Republic of Cyprus for the benefit of all, leveraging Egypt’s infrastructure.”
The two were speaking during a tour in Nicosia’s old town with Chevron’s Vice President for International Exploration and Production Frank Cassulo.
“We have reached some agreements which will be signed, as the President announced yesterday, on February 17, and will essentially concern the exploitation of the Kronos field,” Papanastasiou said.
He added that a memorandum of understanding is also set to be signed that will concern the Aphrodite field.
“The minister of petroleum is here, representing his country, and because the cooperation is between two countries, one of which has the natural wealth and the other has the infrastructure, we believe that it was the most appropriate way to proceed with the exploitation of the deposits, at least of these two,” he said.
Asked whether there might be further actions at the bilateral and multilateral level in terms of exploitation of other deposits and the energy interconnection of the region, Papanastasiou said infrastructure is an important part of the exploitation of deposits, especially when they are located in deep seas.
He added that Egypt is a neighbouring, friendly country, which has this infrastructure, the potential to provide solutions for Cypriot deposits as well, “so this has been studied and this is what it is going to come down to.
“This agreement, or these agreements, that we are going to sign on February 17 are one of the most important agreements that the Republic of Cyprus has signed and they cover the exploitation of these deposits and any other deposit that is discovered along the way. And of course, Egypt will be a possible destination, but again it depends on the quantities that any new discovery will include,” he added.
The Egyptian minister expressed his belief in the bilateral partnership and collaboration for the benefit of Cyprus, for the benefit of Egypt and for the benefit of the region and Europe.
“It is really how we can work together to really unlock the sub-surface potential for the benefit of everyone, to be able to leverage existing infrastructure and to be able to unlock the natural wealth which exists in Cyprus, which we are very happy to be able to promote and to help continued success,” he said.
He added that the visit comes at a very important time since, “if one looks at the collaboration at the highest level in both countries, the excellent relationship between President Christodoulides and Egyptian President Sisi, both countries have been building on the engagements that they started on a few months ago, on how they can work together to accelerate and how they can work in collaboration and partnership.
“Yesterday was a very important milestone, which was the invitation for President Christodoulides to come to Egypt on February 17 and Egypt is very honoured by his acceptance to come and witness the signing of two very important agreements for both our countries and for the region”.
Developments on the Kronos field that have been worked on in partnership between the two governments are a very good sign of collaboration and a key milestone for the sector, he said.
“Also, the collaboration on the Aphrodite field is also very promising,” he added.
“Today is also a beautiful day, there is a saying that the stars are aligned, it is really how we can work together for the benefit of everyone,” he continued.
Click here to change your cookie preferences