Cyprus on Thursday granted the first hydrocarbon exploitation licence to the consortium that owns the Aphrodite concession, with a view to pipe gas to Egypt and export it in the form of LNG.
The licence, granted to Noble Energy, Shell, and Delek, is for 25 years.
It is based on a development and production plan agreed between the government and the companies.
The plan provides for the gas to be carried to an Egyptian liquefaction facility via an underwater pipeline and exported to Europe and elsewhere in the form of LNG.
