Cyprus and Israel to resume talks on shared gas reservoir next week

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus and Israel will hold a new round of online talks next week to seek an agreement on the cross-border gas reservoir spanning Cyprus’s Aphrodite field and Israel’s Yishai field, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Friday.

Dispute over shared reservoir

The dispute stems from the Aphrodite reservoir extending geologically across the maritime boundary into the Yishai field, which lies in Israel’s exclusive economic zone.

Aphrodite is located in Block 12 of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone and is operated by US company Chevron. Block 12 sits at the southernmost tip of the Cypriot zone and borders Israel’s zone to the southeast.

Talks have been under way for years. Israel has argued that part of the gas in Aphrodite comes from Yishai, with estimates suggesting that up to 10 per cent of the field could be Israeli, putting more than €1 billion at stake.

Energy Minister Michael Damianos said last month that meetings would take place in the first half of October.

Investment decision and infrastructure plans

Once an agreement is reached, the government expects a consortium comprising Chevron, Israel’s NewMed Energy and Shell-owned BG Group to take a final investment decision on Block 12 next year.

President Nikos Christodoulides met Chevron executive Javier la Rosa last month and described the project as a matter of “strategic priority”.

Discussions also covered plans to use Egypt’s infrastructure for the gas. Surveys for a pipeline to the Segas liquefied natural gas terminal in Damietta began in June last year.