Cyprus and Israel will continue negotiations in the first half of October aimed at reaching an agreement over the cross-border gas reservoir between Cyprus’ Aphrodite field and Israel’s Ishai field, Energy Minister Michael Damianos said.

“There will be meetings during the first half of October with the aim of concluding the agreement before the end of October,” Damianos told the Cyprus News Agency.

The talks are taking place at a technical level and involve officials from both countries, their legal advisers and the companies operating the two fields.

The long-running issue stems from the Aphrodite gas reservoir extending geologically across the maritime boundary into the Ishai field in Israel’s exclusive economic zone.

Aphrodite is located in Block 12 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and is operated by US energy company Chevron.

Damianos has previously said that following on from an agreement with Israel, the government expects the American multinational corporation Chevron, Israeli energy company NewMed Energy, and BG Group, owned by Royal Dutch Shell, consortium to sign a final investment decision regarding Block 12 next year.