Egypt wants to export surplus gas to Europe through Greece

It is part of a wider push to boost cooperation across energy and electrical grid interconnection across the island of Crete, which lies midway between the North African country and mainland Greece.

He made the disclosure during talks in Cairo on Monday between Egypt and Greece, co-chaired by Madbouly and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Al Arabiya reported.

A number of recent offshore gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean are rapidly redrawing Europe's energy landscape and shifting the balance of power as more countries move towards self-sufficiency in gas.

At the same time some countries in the region are also exploring the potential to link their power grids to allow the movement of electricity across borders.

It could potentially lead to Gulf Arab states exporting power north to Europe during the winter months when demand is high for heating and for European countries to share their excess power in the summer months, when demand rises in the Gulf, driven by rising air conditioning consumption.