Qatar Power has signed an settlement with ExxonMobil and the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Assets to discover how fuel found off the coast of Cyprus might be developed and exported by means of Egypt’s present infrastructure.
The memorandum of understanding, signed by Oil Minister Karim Badawi, places Qatar’s state-owned vitality firm on the middle of a broader effort to hyperlink Cyprus’ offshore fuel fields with Egyptian export amenities and European consumers.
Qatar Power stated the settlement explores future progress alternatives and industrial preparations utilizing Egypt’s fuel infrastructure to serve each home shoppers and worldwide markets.
Cyprus doesn’t have its personal liquefaction amenities, so fuel extracted from offshore fields should first be transported by way of undersea pipes to Egypt, the place it’s processed and liquefied earlier than being shipped to European markets.
Cyprus has spent greater than a decade making an attempt to translate its offshore discoveries into industrial exports, and President Nicos Christodoulides stated the approval marks a turning level within the nation’s transition from exploration to exploitation of its pure fuel sources.
Egypt turns into Cyprus’ fuel gateway to Europe
Egypt has already secured a central position in that plan. In April, companions in Cyprus’ Aphrodite discipline signed a 15-year settlement to promote all recoverable pure fuel from the reservoir to Egyptian Pure Fuel Holding Firm, with an choice to increase the settlement for an additional 5 years.
The deal, together with one signed on Thursday, reveals how Egypt is changing into a serious supply of fuel from Cyprus. The deal additionally builds on Qatar Power’s present partnership with Cyprus’ ExxonMobil.
The businesses are companions in Block 10, and the Glaucas discovery, found in 2019 and estimated to include roughly 3.7 trillion cubic toes of fuel, is one among Cyprus’ most vital offshore discoveries.
A second discovery in the identical block, Pegasus, was confirmed in 2025, and the consortium formally declared each blocks commercially viable in March, with mixed reserves of roughly 7 trillion cubic toes.
Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, CEO of Qatar Power, stated the settlement is a crucial step in advancing regional vitality cooperation throughout the Jap Mediterranean.
The route may be vital for Europe, which has been searching for extra various fuel provides since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted years of vitality flows. Cyprus fuel is unlikely to alter Europe’s vitality stability by itself, however it might be joined by new provide choices from the Jap Mediterranean.
This plan remains to be in its early phases. A closing funding choice has not but been taken and particulars corresponding to infrastructure hyperlinks and industrial phrases haven’t but been agreed.
If the 2028 goal is achieved, it is going to be Cyprus’ first fuel export and set up a brand new provide path to Europe.
