The intergovernmental agreement between Cyprus and Israel on the management of the “Aphrodite–Ishai” gas field is now in its final stage, according to Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou, who spoke on Wednesday at the 13th Energy Symposium in Nicosia.

The Minister said that the text of the agreement has been essentially completed and that the final draft, including the Cypriot side’s comments, was sent to Israel last week. He added that the goal of the two Energy Ministers is for the agreement to be signed by the end of the year.

He explained that the developing intergovernmental agreement will set out the management process for the small section of the Aphrodite field that extends into the “Ishai” area and concerns quantities of natural gas that may lie within Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone. He noted that the process will essentially outline a compensation mechanism for the licence holders on the Israeli side for the share that corresponds to them.