Cyprus signs deal for offshore gas concession

Cyprus signed a 25-year concession on Thursday with a three-member consortium for the exploitation of a gas reservoir southeast of the island first discovered in 2011.

The contract with Noble Energy , Shell and Delek is the first commercial exploitation license signed by the Mediterranean island. The Aphrodite field is thought to hold an estimated 4.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

Cypriot authorities have said natural gas will start being extracted in 2025, with estimated earnings of 9.3 billion euros ($10.29 billion) over an 18-year period.

"The plan includes the implementation of what we consider the best possible option, transferring gas through an subsea pipeline to Idku in Egypt from where LNG will be exported to Europe and international markets," Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said in a statement.

In September last year Egypt and...