Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deal To Boost Europe’s Energy Supply
Egypt and Cyprus have signed a new memorandum of understanding aimed at developing and commercialising offshore gas discoveries in Cyprus using Egypt’s liquefied natural gas facilities and export terminals.
The agreement, signed with Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, is expected to strengthen Cairo’s ambition of becoming the major energy processing and export hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Under the arrangement, natural gas discovered offshore Cyprus will be transported through subsea pipelines to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and exported to international markets, including Europe.
Cyprus currently lacks its own liquefied natural gas infrastructure, making Egypt’s facilities crucial to the project.
The deal comes as European countries continue searching for alternative energy sources following disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing instability affecting shipping routes in the Middle East.
Although analysts say gas supplies from Cyprus alone may not significantly alter Europe’s overall energy balance, the project is expected to strengthen energy flows from the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The agreement also builds on Egypt’s growing role in Mediterranean energy trade and reinforces its position as Africa’s second-largest gas producer.
Earlier in April, partners involved in Cyprus’s Aphrodite gas field signed a 15-year agreement to sell all recoverable gas from the field to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, with an option to extend the deal for another five years.
Major energy companies, including QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil, are already involved in Cyprus’s Block 10 offshore concession.
The Glaucus gas discovery, identified in 2019, is estimated to contain about 3.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, while another discovery known as Pegasus, announced in 2025, pushed the combined reserves of both fields to around 7 trillion cubic feet.
The companies recently declared both discoveries commercially viable.
Chief Executive of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, described the agreement as an important step toward strengthening regional energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Egypt has increasingly attracted international attention because of its strategic location linking Gulf energy routes to European markets.
The country is also expanding energy and infrastructure partnerships with countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
One of the major projects currently underway is the Egypt-Saudi Arabia electricity interconnection project, designed to connect power grids across North Africa and the Gulf region through the Red Sea.
Egypt also remains strategically important through the SUMED pipeline, which transports crude oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and helps reduce pressure on global shipping routes around the Strait of Hormuz.
Although no final investment decision has been announced for the Cyprus-Egypt gas export project, officials believe that if completed by 2028, it would mark Cyprus’s first-ever gas exports to Europe.
