The European Union has already committed $760 million (658 million euros) for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very important project for Europe because it connects Cyprus which is isolated to the European grid. And the idea is to then proceed and connect to Israel,\u201d Cypriot Energy Minister Michael Damianos said in an interview.<\/p>\n
\t Damianos also said that\u00a0European consumers can expect natural gas from an undersea deposit off Cyprus to help meet their energy needs as early as March 2028.<\/p>\n Damianos explained that the East Mediterranean is fast becoming an alternative energy source for European nations as Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and upheaval in the Middle East compel the continent to seek out new sources.<\/p>\n Damianos said partners TotalEnergies of France and Italy\u2019s Eni made a final decision last month to proceed with developing the Cronos natural gas field off Cyprus\u2019 southern coast. The project will be the first time gas from east Mediterranean deposits is supplied to European markets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for Europe at this time because of the war in Ukraine, because of this situation in the Middle East, that Cyprus is going to be an alternative source of gas,\u201d Damianos told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday.<\/p>\n According to the Eni-TotalEnergies consortium timetable, work on a pipeline from Cronos to existing infrastructure at Egypt\u2019s massive Zohr natural gas deposit 105 kilometers (65 miles) away will begin later this year and take up to 18 months to complete.<\/p>\n Once that\u2019s done, the gas will be conveyed to the Damietta processing facility on Egypt\u2019s northern shore where it will be liquefied for transport by ship to Europe.<\/p>\n \t Piping Cronos gas to Egypt for processing was the most economically viable option, costing roughly $2 billion (1.73 billion euros) or half the estimated cost of developing other gas fields inside Cypriot waters because of its proximity to existing infrastructure.<\/p>\n Although the agreement is for all of the more than 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in Cronos to go to Europe, there\u2019s a clause in the deal so that about a fifth of that amount could be used to cover some of Egypt\u2019s domestic energy needs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a small reserve,\u201d said Damianos. \u201cOur income as a country is not going to be huge, so its importance is not the money, its importance is the commencement of being a producer and having first gas.\u201d<\/p>\n Cronos is one of six natural gas deposits discovered so far inside Cyprus\u2019 Exclusive Economic Zone off its southern coastline. Two of those, Glaucus and Pegasus, jointly hold an estimated 6.9 tcf. ExxonMobil and partner QatarEnergy, which were licensed to develop those fields, say they expect gas from Glaucus and Pegasus to start flowing by 2033.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we can say that Exxon is the type of company that sticks by the timelines and sometimes delivers even earlier,\u201d Damianos said.<\/p>\n The energy minister said ExxonMobil plans to expand its exploration activities off Cyprus and is expected to receive an additional license to search for hydrocarbons.<\/p>\n \t Another gas field \u2014 the first to be found off Cyprus some 15 years ago \u2014 is Aphrodite, which holds an estimated 5.6 tcf. Damianos said a final decision by a Chevron-led joint venture to develop the field is expected in the summer of 2027. A pipeline will link the deposit directly to Egyptian facilities to supply the country\u2019s domestic energy needs according to an agreement with Chevron.<\/p>\n Part of the Aphrodite field lies in Israeli waters and it\u2019s hoped an arbitrator will decide the percentage Israel is entitled to by next month.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCyprus\u2019 Energy Minister Michael Damianos looks on during an interview with The Associated Press in Nicosia, Cyprus, on August 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petros Karadjias)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25024601932075-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA family sits by the sea with a view of the \u2018Tungsten Explored\u2019 drilling ship, in the southern coastal city of Larnaca, Cyprus, November 3, 2021. (AP Photo\/Petros Karadjias)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/000_1NE84I-e1577987763847-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tGreek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (C), his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis pose in Athens on January 2, 2020, ahead of the signing of an agreement for the EastMed pipeline project designed to ship gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe. (ARIS MESSINIS \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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