Cyprus changes tack with plan for Mediterranean gas link to Israel

Cyprus hopes to develop plans for a pipeline linking it to Israel's east Mediterranean gas fields during talks which start next month, the island's top energy official told Reuters.

Proposals by the new centrist Cypriot government, which came to power in March, represent a markedly different approach to its predecessors in getting gas to Europe and other markets.

Rather than the 2,000 km (1,243 mile) EastMed pipeline to continental Europe, the new government is proposing a much shorter one linking Cyprus to fields off Israel. Once in Cyprus, the gas could be converted to LNG and shipped to Europe.

The eastern Mediterranean has yielded major gas discoveries in the past decade, mostly off Israel and Egypt, with interest rising since Russia's invasion of Ukraine hit flows to Europe.

Lesser Cypriot discoveries are yet to enter into production and for Energy...