Multinational oil giants, ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Egypt to assess the potential of developing natural gas discoveries in Cyprus through the North African country’s existing infrastructure.
QatarEnergy in an online statement said the MoU would enable the three signatory parties to study future growth opportunities and flexible commercial frameworks in light of Egypt’s position in the region and its gas infrastructure, which serves both domestic consumers and global markets.
“It highlights Egypt’s role as a potential hub for Eastern Mediterranean gas, supporting deeper integration between Egypt and Cyprus in the field of natural gas while optimising the utilisation of existing infrastructure,” the statement said.
QatarEnergy president and chief executive, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said the MoU signified an important step in advancing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean through unlocking the long-term commercial potential of natural gas resources across that region.
Cyprus had last year announced a new gas discovery in Block 10, which United States energy giant ExxonMobil operates with a 60 percent stake. QatarEnergy owns 40 percent in the block, awarded 2017.
“The ‘Pegasus-1’ well, located about 190 kilometers offshore southwest of Cyprus, indicated approximately 350 meters [1,148.29 feet] of gas-bearing reservoir”, the presidency said July 7, 2025.
This is the second discovery in the block, located southwest of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The partners earlier found a gas-bearing reservoir about 436 feet in Glaucus-1.
“Based on preliminary interpretation of the well data, the discovery could represent an in-place natural gas resource of approximately 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet (142 billion to 227 billion cubic meters)”, ExxonMobil said in a press release February 28, 2019.
