The Cypriot government considers as particularly important the upcoming visit of the Minister of Energy of Cyprus George Papanastasiou to Tel Aviv in mid-June, which will have as its only topic of discussion the prospect of cooperation between the two countries in the transport of natural gas from Israel to Cyprus. The goal of the two sides is to reach a political agreement that will transform the expressed interest of Israeli companies in the construction of a natural gas pipeline from the Israeli EEZ to Cyprus. Based on the agreement under discussion, Israel intends to allocate part of the quantities of natural gas it has available for export, to Cyprus, to cover its own needs in exchange for construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant for LNG transport to European markets.

Win-win deal

In Nicosia, optimism is expressed that the discussions will reach an agreement since during the recent visit of the Cypriot President to Israel it was found that Benjamin Netanyahu has the political will to implement such a project. For Cyprus, direct access to Israeli natural gas is considered extremely important, since it will allow the country to disengage from the use of oil for electricity production and will exempt it from the European fines of millions imposed on it every year. In addition, it will allow Nicosia to fulfill its perennial ambitions, to become an energy hub for the European energy markets. For its part, Israel, which utilizes the natural gas of the “Leviathan” and “Tamar” fields, either meeting its own needs or exporting it to Egypt, aspires that through the agreement with Cyprus it will obtain unfettered access to European marketss.