ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian government to develop a framework to monetize their Cyprus offshore gas discoveries in Block 10 (Glaucus and Pegasus).
Egypt has already agreed export frameworks with other majors operating on the Cypriot shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, including
- Eni and TotalEnergies, which signed binding frameworks and commercial agreements to transport Cronos (Cyprus Block 6) production to Egypt’s Zohr facilities and the Damietta LNG plant.
- The Chevron‑led Aphrodite consortium (Chevron, Shell, NewMed Energy), which signed a nonbinding MoU establishing a framework to transport Aphrodite gas to Egypt for processing and LNG export via EGAS.
The ExxonMobil-NewMed MoU announced on 21 May describes a similar path to commercialization for future production from the consortium’s Glaucus and Pegasus fields in Block 10 offshore Cyprus in which ExxonMobil holds a 60% operator interest and QatarEnergy holds a 40% participating interest.
Discovered in 2019, Glaucus is estimated to hold around 3.7 Tcf of gas, while a second discovery in Block 10, Pegasus, was identified in 2025. In March 2026, the partnership formally declared both fields commercially viable with combined reserves of approximately 7 Tcf.
Egypt Advances Regional Gas Hub Ambitions
The newest MoU builds on Egypt's evolving role as a hub for Eastern Mediterranean gas, supporting deeper integration between Egypt and Cyprus by leveraging Cairo’s underutilized gas processing and LNG export infrastructure.
“This MoU represents an important step in advancing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean through unlocking the long-term commercial potential of natural gas resources across that region,” Qatar’s Energy Minister and QatarEnergy President and CEO, Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, said in a press release.
"We look forward to working closely with the Government of Egypt and our strategic partner ExxonMobil to achieve the objectives of this MoU for the benefit of all parties," he added.
In April, Chevron and its partners in the Aphrodite field, Shell and NewMed, signed a 15-year agreement to sell all recoverable natural gas (around 100 Bcm) from the project to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), with an option to extend for another 5 years.
NewMed described the deal in a regulatory filing with the Israeli Securities Authority and Tel Aviv stock exchange on 6 April, noting that a new subsea pipeline would be built from Block 12 to Egypt’s Port Said.
Chevron Advances Offshore Greece Strategy
With Aphrodite now in the front-end engineering design stage and anticipating a final investment decision in 2027, Chevron is pivoting to offshore Greece. On 28 May, it filed its intent to acquire a 70% stake and operatorship in a farm-in with Helleniq Energy in two offshore exploration concessions, Block 2 in the southwest Ionian Sea and Block 10 off the Kyparissia Gulf, Reuters reported.
This was in addition to leases Chevron secured from Helleniq in February for four ultradeepwater exploration blocks south of Crete and the Peloponnese.
ExxonMobil meanwhile has farmed into Greece’s offshore Block 2 in the Ionian Sea, taking a 60% stake alongside Energean and Helleniq Energy, in another exploration concession under an agreement struck in November 2025. The consortium plans the country’s first offshore exploration well in roughly 40 years, with ExxonMobil positioned as operator if a commercial discovery is made.
ExxonMobil officially became a co‑lessee in March after receiving ministerial approval of the interest transfer, according to Greece’s state-owned hydrocarbon agency HEREMA.