Shell Sells 35% Stake in Cyprus’ Aphrodite Gas Field to MOL Group for $720 Million

Energy giant Shell is selling its entire 35% stake in the Aphrodite gas field off Cyprus to Hungarian energy company MOL Group in a deal valued at approximately $720 million. The transaction, reported by NewMed Energy which holds 30% of the field, is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, with closure expected in early 2027. This deal values the Aphrodite field at over $2 billion, even before a final investment decision or commercial development has begun.

Upon completion, MOL will replace Shell as the 35% stakeholder, while Chevron, the operator, will retain its 35% share, and NewMed Energy, controlled by Israeli businessman Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group, will continue holding 30%. The Aphrodite gas field, discovered in 2011 in Cyprus’s economic waters about 160 km from Limassol and near Israel’s Leviathan field, is estimated to contain around 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making it one of the largest undeveloped gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Earlier this year, the partners signed a memorandum of understanding with Cyprus’s state gas company CHC and Egypt’s EGAS to sell all gas produced from Aphrodite to EGAS. Plans include constructing a subsea pipeline connecting the field to Egypt’s gas network. Negotiations are ongoing to finalize hosting and other binding agreements to advance the project. A final investment decision is expected in the first half of 2027.

MOL’s development plan involves drilling four wells, installing a floating production facility, and laying a roughly 250-kilometer subsea pipeline to Egypt. The company projects first gas production by 2031. MOL, a major Central European energy firm, views the acquisition as a significant growth opportunity in oil and gas exploration and production, expanding its EU presence and reserves alongside Chevron and NewMed Energy.