Cyprus, Egypt sign deal for Mediterranean’s 1st subsea gas pipeline

Cyprus and Egypt on Wednesday signed an agreement paving the way for the Mediterranean’s first subsea pipeline to carry Cypriot natural gas to the Arab country for re-export to Europe, AFP reports. “Today’s signing is an important milestone, not only for Cyprus but also the entire eastern Mediterranean region,” said Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis alongside visiting Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla. He said the agreement is “the first of its kind in our shared region.” The deal is crucial for channeling gas from the island’s “Aphrodite” offshore field to Egypt and to attract multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investments. Texas-based Noble Energy in 2011 made the first discovery off Cyprus in the Aphrodite block estimated to contain 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas but it has yet to be extracted.