Cyprus and Egypt have reaffirmed their commitment to developing two Cypriot offshore gas fields via Egyptian infrastructure, with a new framework agreement signed in Cairo on Monday bringing both the Kronos and Aphrodite discoveries under the same arrangement for the first time.
Energy Minister Michalis Damianos, speaking to the Cyprus News Agency on the sidelines of the EGYPES 2026 conference, said the agreement confirmed the strategic choice of both countries to export Cypriot natural gas to Egypt. The deal was signed in the presence of President Nikos Christodoulides and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Damianos said the new agreement did not change the direction already agreed in the past but now placed the Kronos and Aphrodite fields within the same framework, both having been selected as the first to be developed via the Egyptian market and its associated infrastructure.
A key element of the agreement is the establishment of a joint technical committee that will negotiate the terms for the sale of gas to Egypt or to Egyptian state companies. The committee will examine both commercial and technical aspects with the aim of optimising the use of Cypriot hydrocarbons and meeting part of Egypt’s energy needs.
The minister stressed that the agreement represented primarily a political confirmation of the path already charted by the two countries, noting that actual implementation would depend to a significant degree on the companies operating in the relevant blocks of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone.
On the sidelines of his Cairo visit, Damianos accompanied the President at his meeting with the Egyptian president and also attended a meeting with TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné. Separate meetings were also scheduled with major energy companies operating in or interested in the Cypriot EEZ, including ExxonMobil, BP and other energy groups.
The minister also announced he was taking part in a roundtable discussion on energy priorities, geopolitical realities and international security, alongside the Director-General of the European Commission’s Energy Committee and his Egyptian counterpart. The discussion is focused on geopolitical developments and their impact on energy security and investment in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Damianos further announced that an informal online EU Energy Ministers Council, held under Cyprus’s presidency, would take place on Tuesday, with the impact of the Middle East situation on energy supply security and energy prices as its central topic.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen is expected to attend, with the session set to cover measures being taken by member states and possible common European initiatives. The recently announced energy measures of the Cypriot government are also expected to be presented during the discussions.