Dialogues over the selling of Cypriot offshore gas to Egypt has been ongoing, despite the recent discovery of a massive gas find in Egyptian waters, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis recapped at Nicosia where he met with representatives of British Gas (BG).

Lakkotrypis reported his interest in obtaining gas from the Aphrodite prospect in Block 12, processing it at their LNG plant in Egypt and then re-exporting it to Europe.

The Block 12 consortium and CHC are in the meantime in consultations with ten other organizations interested in the gas, including Union Fenosa, operators of the other LNG terminal in Egypt at Damietta. Cyprus mail reports.

There are two aspects to the discovery of the Zohr prospect in Egypt, Lakkotrypis noted.

One is geological; in that the Zohr field is in close proximity (some 6 km) to the border of Cyprus’ offshore Block 11, currently licensed to French oil giant Total, who previously failed in identifying drilling targets. Currently, the discovery of Zohr serves to better map out the area, and may suggest the presence of hydrocarbons on the Cypriot side.

The second aspect, Lakkotrypis said, concerns Cyprus’ bid to sell its gas to Egypt, “which is now the question.” However, since the announcement of the Zohr discovery, the minister has been in regular communication with his Egyptian counterpart, Sherif Ismail (photo).

Both countries’ officials have been cautious to stress that the recent discovery does not negate Egyptian interest in Cypriot gas imports, although Ismail did indicate that the final decision rests with the oil and gas companies.