The Cypriot Minister of Energy said today, Monday, that Cyprus and Israel are working on an agreement to build a pipeline transporting natural gas from the two countries to the island state located in the eastern Mediterranean, where it will be liquefied for export by ships to Europe and possibly elsewhere.

The minister, Giorgos Papanastasiou, said today, Monday, that he will visit Israel soon to reach a formal agreement in this regard.

He explained that once the deal is signed, the pipeline can be completed within 18 months.

Building the gas liquefaction plant in Cyprus will take two and a half years once investors are secured.

So far, five large gas fields have been discovered off the southern coast of Cyprus, and Israel has 11 such fields: the largest, called Leviathan, contains an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet (623 billion cubic meters) of gas.

On the other hand, Papanastasiou said he would meet later this month with energy companies licensed to explore for oil and gas within Cyprus's exclusive economic zone — including the French Total, Italian Eni, ExxonMobil, and Chevron — to identify ways of cooperating on projects that would accelerate gas production.

The minister said Israel has agreed to the proposal submitted by the Cypriot government regarding the pipeline and the liquefaction plant, which was revealed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, as the eastern Mediterranean has sufficient (gas) deposits.

Papanastasiou told reporters that most of them are within Israel's exclusive economic zone, but Cyprus also has sufficient quantities to make this project feasible.

The minister explained that this project is a shortened version of the EastMed pipeline idea.

This proposal — for a 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile) pipeline worth $6 billion designed to directly transport regional gas to Europe — has become less favored in recent years.

He explained that instead of directly linking the pipeline to Europe, processed gas from Cyprus can reach international markets by ships.

Papanastasiou said: "When you have liquefied natural gas, it can go in any direction... Europe needs it more now, but markets can also be found in Asia."

In December, the previous Cypriot government said it was studying a similar plan proposal as the Russian war in Ukraine exacerbated the energy crisis, according to the Associated Press.

Papanastasiou said Cypriot and Israeli authorities would need a few more months to negotiate a separate agreement on the amount of gas from the Cypriot Aphrodite gas field that lies within adjacent Israeli waters.

The minister said the proposal for a pipeline to transport Cypriot and Egyptian gas to liquefaction plans in Egypt for export remains separate from the Israeli-Cypriot plan.