Egypt and the Greek Cypriot authorities have moved closer to a deal on the development of hydrocarbon resources once a signed ratification from the Egyptian authorities comes through. In a statement released on Thursday, Greek Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism George Lakkotrypis said it welcomes the signing of a Presidential Decree by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi which ratifies the framework agreement between the governments regarding the development of hydrocarbon resources that stretch from the one side of the Median Line to the other. According to Natural Gas Europe, the agreement is based on the 2003 Agreement for the Delineation of the Exclusive Economic Zone, which was signed in Cairo last December. Egypt is also seeking to purchase natural gas from the Greek Cypriot administration, offering technical assistance and to liquefy gas found in the latter's Mediterranean gas fields in Egyptian plants, an Egyptian energy official told Anadolu Agency in December after a meeting between then-Egyptian interim President Adly Mansour and Greek Cypriot administration leader Nicos Anastasiades. In late November, a report published by the Middle-East monitor suggested that the Greek Cypriot government is still in the process of exploring its own reserves and is negotiating a deal with Israel to supply the island with gas while exploration works continue. This means any deal between Egypt and Greek Cyprus would, at least in the short-term, be over Israeli reserves. Source: World Bulletin
