Negotiations with Egypt on gas cooperation ongoing, says Cyprus

Talks with Egypt on gas cooperation are ongoing despite a giant gas discovery in Egypt's offshore fields, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said Wednesday.

"There is constant cooperation between ministers of Egypt and Cyprus," said Christodoulides.

He was commenting on a statement by Egypt's Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail that the Zohr field discovery, containing an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, will not undermine private-sector negotiations for buying gas from Israel and Cyprus.

Egypt's gas discovery is the largest in the Mediterranean and one of the largest in the world.

Cyprus agreed to sell Egypt its natural gas from Aphrodite field south of the island's shores, using existing infrastructure to pipe it to Egyptian liquefaction plants.

Christodoulides said Egypt's find in drilling by Italian energy company ENI will help upgrade Cyprus' energy status, as the Zohr field is only a few kilometers away from Cyprus' gas fields.

ENI had made two unsuccessful drillings in a Cypriot field and has put off further plans until a reassessment is made.

Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said he had been in touch with his Egyptian counterpart and added that gas cooperation between the two countries is continuing.

Lakkotrypis said the Egyptian drilling was done about 10 km from a Cypriot gas field and the find may cross into Cypriot territory.

ENI said the gas discovery covers an area of about 100 square kilometers. Endit