Energy This Week | The National

The Eastern Mediterranean is back at the centre of Europe’s gas security push. There has been a race in recent weeks to lock in exploration deals, sign long-term supply pacts and accelerate plans to discover new reserves. Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria are all important players in unlocking the potential of the Eastern Mediterranean’s vast reserves, which have been estimated to hold as much as 80 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Earlier this week, US oil major Chevron approved a plan to expand production capacity at Israel’s offshore Leviathan field. Leviathan, which is estimated to hold up to 21 tcf of gas of which around 600 billion cubic feet are recoverable, has been a gamechanger both for Israel and the East Med.

Last month, Israel approved a $35 billion supply agreement with Egypt, which also holds vast quantities of gas but requires imports to meet its growing domestic needs. This has not deterred Cairo from reaching out to its neighbours - Cyprus, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon - to sign gas deals that hinge on future supply.

Meanwhile, countries that border the East Med are taking matters into their own hands. At the start of the year, Lebanon signed an agreement with a consortium including TotalEnergies, Eni and Qatar Energy to explore for gas in its offshore Block 8. A potential discovery could change the fortunes for Lebanon, which has relied on polluting fuel oil to keep its power stations running.

Last week, at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, I spoke to Guido Brusco, chief operating officer at Eni. He spoke of Cronos, the gas find offshore of Cyprus that the Italian energy company is planning to take a final investment decision on as soon as the end of the first quarter of 2026.

As Europe looks to secure alternative supplies, notably from this gas-rich region, players like Eni are leveraging the East Med’s existing infrastructure to quickly process and supply gas to the continent. Eni is moving to fast-track new gas volumes by leaning on Egypt’s LNG plants - a plan that does not require additional investments but shortens the path from discovery to export.

In a region long rich in gas but short on execution, speed and pragmatism, rather than scale alone, are now defining who gets gas to Europe first.

Eni is expanding gas exploration and development across the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. The strategy is aimed at fast-tracking gas supplies into Europe using existing infrastructure.

A final investment decision (FID) on Cyprus’s Cronos gas field - which was discovered in 2022 by Eni and TotalEnergies - is expected Q1 or very early Q2 2026

It is estimated to hold more than 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas
The development plan includes a phased approach with a subsea tie-back to Egypt. No LNG plant will be built in Cyprus

Guido Brusco, chief operating officer for Global Natural Resources at Eni, believes in Egypt's ambitions to become a net gas exporter. Victor Besa /The National

Egypt already has operational LNG plants and using existing infrastructure cuts costs, shortens timelines and improves project economics. Extracted gas would be processed and liquefied in Egypt and exported mainly to Europe.

Europe is seeking to reduce dependence on Russian gas and secure alternative, politically safer supply routes, while Eastern Mediterranean producers are looking to replicate the export success of Israel’s Leviathan and Egypt’s Zohr (discovered by Eni in 2015).

Libya: It plans for offshore exploration in the Sirte Basin and onshore drilling near existing facilities in south-west Libya
Egypt: Eni plans to continue gas exploration, maximising output from mature fields, including the Western Desert. It also sees further upside potential at Zohr (a 30 tcf resource base)

Egypt aims to return to net gas exporter status. Mr Brusco says renewables could free up gas used for power, helping meet its goal
According to him, every 10 GW of renewables could release 0.7–0.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas.
Egypt recently signed a $35bn gas import deal with Israel’s Leviathan field and also entered preliminary gas supply talks with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Cyprus

Subsea tie-back:

A development approach where offshore gas is connected via pipelines to existing processing or LNG facilities, cutting costs and speeding up production.

Gas potential left in the Eastern Mediterranean