Cyprus' natural gas could start flowing to Europe as early as March 2028, Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said, as the island nation advances projects with ExxonMobil, QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and Meridiam. The timeline marks a critical moment for European energy security — but questions remain about who will bear the financial burden and whether ordinary Cypriots will face soaring electricity bills to subsidize continental supply.
Damianos framed the East Mediterranean as an emerging alternative energy source for Europe as Russia's war in Ukraine and Middle East instability force the continent to diversify. Partners TotalEnergies of France and Italy's Eni took the final investment decision last month to develop the Cronos gas field off Cyprus' southern coast. It'll be the first time gas from East Mediterranean fields feeds European markets.
The Infrastructure Push
Work on a pipeline from Cronos to existing infrastructure at Egypt's giant Zohr gas field, 105 kilometers away, will start later this year and take up to 18 months, according to the Eni-TotalEnergies timetable. Once completed, the gas will go to the Damietta processing facility on Egypt's northern coast, where it'll be liquefied for shipment to Europe. Damianos said sending gas from Cronos to Egypt for processing was the most economically viable option, at a cost of around $2 billion, or €1.73 billion — about half the estimated cost of developing other gas fields in Cypriot waters because of its proximity to existing infrastructure.
The agreement provides that all of the more than 3 trillion cubic feet, or 84.9 billion cubic meters, of gas from Cronos will go to Europe, but includes a clause allowing about one-fifth of that volume to be used to cover part of Egypt's domestic energy needs. "It is a relatively small reserve," Damianos said. "Our revenues as a country will not be huge, so its importance does not lie in the money, but in the fact that we are starting to become producers and to bring our first natural gas on stream."
Bigger Fields, Longer Timelines
Cronos is one of six gas fields discovered so far within Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone off its southern coast. Two of them, Glafcos and Pegasus, have combined estimated reserves of 6.9 trillion cubic feet, or 195 billion cubic meters. ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy, which have been licensed to exploit those fields, say they expect gas from Glafcos and Pegasus to start flowing by 2033. "What we can say is that Exxon is the kind of company that keeps to schedules and sometimes even delivers earlier," Damianos said. He also said ExxonMobil plans to expand its exploration activities off Cyprus and is expected to obtain an additional license to search for hydrocarbons.
Another gas field, Aphrodite, was the first to be discovered off Cyprus about 15 years ago and holds estimated reserves of 5.6 trillion cubic feet, or 158 billion cubic meters. A final investment decision by the Chevron-led consortium on developing Aphrodite is expected in the summer of 2027. Under the agreement with Chevron, a pipeline will link the field directly to facilities in Egypt to cover that country's domestic energy needs. Part of Aphrodite lies in Israeli waters, and Damianos said there's hope an arbitrator will decide what share Israel is entitled to by next month.
The Electricity Grid Question
Damianos also hailed the entry of French investment company Meridiam as a financier of the Great Seas Interconnector project, a power cable that will connect Europe's electricity grid with Cyprus and, eventually, Israel. He said the project would end the energy isolation of Cyprus and Israel and would be a key building block of the IMEC Initiative, a new energy and trade route to the Gulf and India that the European Union is pursuing.
But the project has become mired in bureaucratic procedures because its actual cost exceeds the original estimate of $2.2 billion, or €1.91 billion. A European Investment Bank report expected in the coming months will provide clarity on the price tag. Damianos said Cypriot energy consumers would have to cover up to 63% of the cost of building the cable under the current agreement, which would mean a significant increase in electricity prices. Additional private investment is being sought to offset that burden, while the possibility of further EU funding is also being examined. The EU has already committed €658 million, or $760 million, to the project.
"This is a very important project for Europe because it links Cyprus, which is isolated, with the European grid," Damianos said. "And the idea is to then go on and connect with Israel."
Why This Matters:
Cyprus' gas ambitions illustrate a central tension in Europe's energy transition: the continent needs new supply sources to replace Russian gas, but the infrastructure costs often fall on small member states and their citizens. Cypriot households could face sharply higher electricity bills to subsidize a grid connection that primarily benefits continental Europe. The EU has committed €658 million to the Great Seas Interconnector, but that's a fraction of the total cost — and the gap will likely be filled by Cypriot consumers unless further private or EU funding materializes. Meanwhile, the gas itself won't generate transformative revenue for Cyprus, as Damianos himself acknowledged. The real test of European solidarity will be whether Brussels steps in to ensure energy security doesn't come at the expense of affordability for ordinary people on Europe's periphery.