ExxonMobil, QatarEnergy move to implementation phase on Cyprus-Egypt gas tie-back

Egypt, ExxonMobil, and QatarEnergy have taken the first executive steps toward connecting ExxonMobil’s offshore Cypriot gas fields to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure, with both sides agreeing to swiftly establish joint technical committees and set clear timelines for the studies required to advance the project.

The implementation roadmap was discussed on 6 August at a meeting in New Alamein between Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and senior ExxonMobil executives including Kenan Nariman, Vice President of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development, and Diaa Soheil, Vice President and Venture Operations Manager at ExxonMobil Egypt Upstream Limited.

Badawi described the meeting as the first executive step following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in late May by Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR), ExxonMobil, and QatarEnergy.

The MoU is intended to evaluate the development and commercialisation of ExxonMobil’s Glaucus and Pegasus fields in Block 10 offshore Cyprus, by routing their gas to Egypt’s existing processing and LNG export facilities for re-export.

The joint technical committees, once launched, will oversee technical, commercial, and regulatory studies — the three workstreams that must be completed before any final investment decision can be taken.

For investors tracking Eastern Mediterranean gas development, the formation of these committees marks the transition from a framework agreement to a structured project governance process.

Badawi framed the ExxonMobil-QatarEnergy collaboration as the latest in a series of regional tie-back arrangements anchored by Egypt’s LNG infrastructure.

He cited the Cronos project — developed with Eni and TotalEnergies — under which gas will be transported to Egypt for processing, liquefaction, and re-export, and the Aphrodite project with Chevron, which involves a 15-year agreement, extendable by five years, for Egypt to receive, process, and export Cypriot gas.

Badawi said the projects collectively represent a model for regional energy integration that strengthens energy security across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Egypt’s role as a regional LNG hub has grown in strategic importance as European buyers seek to diversify away from Russian pipeline gas.

The country operates two LNG export terminals — at Idku and Damietta — which have historically run below capacity but are now central to multiple tie-back proposals from Cypriot and other Eastern Mediterranean fields.

At the close of the meeting, Badawi invited ExxonMobil’s leadership to participate in the Mediterranean Offshore Conference (MOC), scheduled for October, to showcase Egypt’s LNG infrastructure and explore further investment and cooperation opportunities.