Cyprus announced last week that it signed its first-ever natural gas exploitation deal for the Aphrodite gas field, saying it chose a consortium comprising Israel's Delek, industry giant Shell, US-based Noble.
The 25-year license is worth US$9.3 billion. The Aphrodite gas field, discovered off Cyprus' shores in 2011 by Texas-based Noble Energy is estimated to contain over 113 billion cubic meters of gas.
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"Noble Energy, Shell and Delek now have in their hands the first exploitation license granted by the Republic of Cyprus so they can commercialize the deposit," said Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis, shortly after the agreement was signed.
The signing of the deal comes after the cabinet approved revisions to a production sharing agreement, made at the companies' request due to a significant fall in hydrocarbon prices since mid-2014.
Nicosia is set to receive an average yearly income of $520 million over an 18-year period.
