Karim Badawi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Cypriot Minister of Energy and Industry George Papanastasiou to look into accelerating the connection of Cypriot natural gas fields Cronos and Aphrodite to Egypt’s energy infrastructure by 2027. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the GASTECH 2025 conference and exhibition in Milan, Italy.

Connecting the two fields opens wide prospects for Cyprus to export gas to Europe through Egypt and reinforces Egypt’s position as a regional hub for energy trade and distribution.

In the meeting, the two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to providing all necessary support to ensure the success of joint strategic projects in the best interest of both sides.

This meeting is the second this month between Egypt and Cyrpus. Egypt’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Petroleum and Mineral Resources visited Cyprus last week to hold discussions focused on strengthening regional cooperation, specifically in the fields of energy and natural gas.

The Cronos gas field, discovered in 2022 and located in Cyprus’s Block 6, is estimated to have about 85-70 billion cubic meters of gas in place, with some estimates suggesting it could be higher. Eni and TotalEnergies operate it.

The Aphrodite field, discovered in 2011, is estimated to hold approximately 125 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It is operated by Chevron, Shell, and NewMed Energy.