Cyprus Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michael Damianos visited Egypt’s Damietta liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on October 21 to assess its readiness to receive and process Cypriot gas for re-export to international markets, according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

The visit came during Damianos’ trip to Egypt for the Mediterranean Offshore Conference (MOC 2026) in Alexandria, held from October 20 to 22, and followed his meeting with Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi.

The tour focused on the plant’s technical and operational capabilities and its readiness to receive gas from Cyprus’ Cronos field once development is completed.

The project is part of broader Egyptian-Cypriot efforts to connect offshore gas discoveries to Egypt’s existing infrastructure for processing, liquefaction, and export.

Yasseen Mohamed, Deputy Managing Director of Damietta LNG, briefed the delegation on the facility’s operations, including gas reception, processing, liquefaction, storage, and export. The delegation also toured the liquefaction units, LNG storage tanks, and marine terminal.

The ministry said the plant’s infrastructure could support the development of East Mediterranean gas resources and help deliver supplies to international markets. The facility, which began exporting LNG in 2005, is one of Egypt’s two LNG export plants, alongside the Idku facility.

In July, Eni and TotalEnergies approved the development of Cyprus’ Cronos gas field, with plans to process the gas through Egypt’s Zohr facilities and export it as LNG from Damietta, primarily to European markets.