The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is negotiating to import roughly 700m cubic feet of gas daily from the Cypriot Aphrodite field, owned by US company Noble Energy. In a statement to Daily News Egypt, EGAS Chairman Khaled Abdel Badie announced that the marine pipeline will be completed within two and a half to three years. Abdel Badie also said that Enppi will handle the technical and engineering studies to set the closest route for the line in the Mediterranean. The line will link the Aphrodite field to Egypt through the deep waters of the Mediterranean. The gas will be received in a treatment station and will then be pumped to clients. Abdel Badie expects that the Cypriot gas will be sent to Egypt by 2017, after finishing the pipeline and preparing Noble Gas with the equipment to facilitate production. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between EGAS and Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (CHC) to start an information exchange. Technical and economic studies of establishing the pipeline with a length of 400km to import gas from the Aphrodite field will also be undertaken. The cost of establishing the pipeline will be divided between Cyprus' government and Noble Energy, on one side, and the Egypt government, BG, and Union Fenosa, on the other side. Abdel Badie said that he visited Cyprus at the beginning of the month to start the information exchange for importing gas, and negotiations will continue with CHC. The MoU allows EGAS and CHC to find technical solutions for gas transportation through a direct marine pipeline from the Aphrodite field to Egypt. It will positively affect operation of both the EDCO and Damietta liquefaction plants and fulfil the country's gas needs. It is expected that the agreement will be implemented within six months after the MoU's signing. President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi arrived to Cyprus on Tuesday, in an official visit that will also include Spain. The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, and the republican honorary guard received the Egyptian president at the airport. With his Cypriot counterpart and the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, President Al-Sisi held two meetings, and a trilateral summit followed by an expanded session of talks, where delegations from the three countries participated. Egypt has previously signed an agreement with Cyprus to be able to purchase gas in order to fulfil Egypt's needs.
