Cyprus Mail: Anastasiades, Netanyahu to Discuss Gas Sticking Point

President Nicos Anastasiades’ visit to Israel on Friday, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will focus on making progress in a long-standing effort to finalise a natural gas unitisation agreement between the two countries, which has been sought since 2010, Israeli media reported.

The Aphrodite gas reserve, located in block 12 of Cyprus exclusive economic zone (EEZ), extends slightly – by 1 per cent – into the Israeli EEZ, according to reports, and although Israel has no interest in exploiting its stake as it is financially unviable, a unitisation agreement is required to delineate the reserve’s monetisation terms.

According to Israeli online portal Globes, Israel’s view is that the agreement can be finalised when political obstacles to full exploitation of the region’s natural reserves have been overcome, with Cyprus at the epicentre of the strategy to transport gas to Turkey, and from there to Europe. MORE