Cyprus has approved plans that will see revenues from its Aphrodite gas field enter state coffers by 2025, some 14 years after the discovery was made.

Nobel Energy in 2011 discovered 4.5 TCF of gas in the Aphrodite field, a find that far outweighs local demand but is too small to support the construction of an independent pipeline or LNG facility. 

Further complicating matters, part of the Aphrodite field fell into Israel’s exclusive economic zone. It took eight years to resolve the issue with Israel, with development plans finally approved in early November.

Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said revenues from the sector would be expected by 2025. 

This case should be seen as a warning to policy-makers in Lebanon, who must be careful not to rely on potential revenues from the sector as a source of salvation from the country’s dire economic and financial situation. 

Even if a commercially viable discovery is made in Lebanese waters early next year, revenues from the sector may be more than a decade away.

Photo Source: Cyprus Mail