QatarEnergy said it had signed a preliminary deal with ExxonMobil, opens new tab and Egypt's ​government to study the development and commercialization ‌of gas discoveries in Cyprus using Egypt's existing gas and LNG infrastructure.

The memorandum of understanding "highlights Egypt’s role as a ​potential hub for Eastern Mediterranean gas, supporting ​deeper integration between Egypt and Cyprus in the ⁠field of natural gas while optimizing the ​utilization of existing infrastructure," QatarEnergy said in a statement.

Egypt's ​liquefaction plants, which can convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas for export, have long been underutilized. Its gas infrastructure ​serves both domestic consumers and global markets.

QatarEnergy, ​the world's single largest producer of LNG before the U.S.-Israeli war with ‌Iran, ⁠faces a prolonged recovery from Iranian attacks in March that damaged two of its 14 LNG trains, sidelining 12.8 million tons per year of capacity ​for three to ​five years.

It ⁠is also largely unable to ship LNG due to the effective closure ​of the Strait of Hormuz, through which ​roughly ⁠a fifth of global oil and gas supplies flowed before the conflict.

The agreement is a step toward ⁠advancing ​energy cooperation across the Eastern ​Mediterranean, said QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi, also Qatar's minister of state ​for energy.