Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi said Egypt is keen to accelerate the connection of Cypriot gas to its infrastructure and strengthen cooperation with French energy company Total Energies to advance exploration, development and production activities in the Mediterranean.

Badawi made the remarks during a meeting with Julian Bouguet, the company’s Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production in North Africa and the Middle East, on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Petroleum Conference and Exhibition in Alexandria.

The meeting, attended by Total Energies Executive Director for Egypt, Lebanon and Cyprus Leila El Hares, reviewed natural gas projects, progress on linking Cyprus’ Cronos gas field to Egypt in cooperation with the petroleum sector, Eni and Total Energies, and opportunities to boost investment in gas exploration and production in Egypt’s Mediterranean waters.

Badawi said progress on the project highlighted the importance of partnerships between governments and global energy companies.

He noted that high-level political support from the Egyptian and Cypriot leaderships had advanced implementation and strengthened coordination among stakeholders.

He said the project would enable Cyprus to export its natural gas using Egypt’s infrastructure for reception, processing and re-export, strengthening Egypt’s role as a regional gas trading hub and delivering mutual economic benefits.

Badawi also expressed interest in expanding Total Energies’ investments in Egypt’s natural gas sector, reaffirming the ministry’s readiness to support projects and explore technical and commercial solutions to cut costs, improve economic viability and accelerate investment decisions.

For his part, TotalEnergies Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production in North Africa and the Middle East Julian Bouguet praised cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, saying the company was continuing to assess promising exploration prospects and identify areas with strong gas potential.

He added that access to more technical data would improve the assessment of exploration opportunities, noting the company’s intention to continue evaluating prospects in the coming period.