(Adds statements from Noble, BG Group)
NICOSIA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Britain's BG Group hasagreed to pay U.S. firm Noble Energy $165 million for a35 percent stake in a consortium with rights over a natural gasfield in the eastern Mediterranean, Noble said on Monday.
BG is acquiring the stake in Block 12, which includes theAphrodite gas field off Cyprus, in a deal expected to closebefore the end of this year, Noble Energy said in a statement.
Noble Energy also announced it was selling its 47 percentstake in the Alon A and Alon C licenses off Israel, whichinclude the Tanin and Karish fields, to Israel's Delek Group for$73 million.
Aphrodite, discovered in 2011, is estimated to contain aboutfour trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to Noble.
Cyprus, which required an international bailout in 2013, ishoping natural gas will fuel an economic turnaround.
The original partners in developing Aphrodite, Noble andDelek, said in June that the field was commercially viable andsaid their plans called for producing 8 billion cubic metres ofgas a year and the construction of a pipeline to Egypt.
J. Keith Elliott, Noble Energy`s senior vice president forthe eastern Mediterranean, said BG would bring substantialtechnical, financial and marketing capacity as the consortiumdevelops the project.
Cyprus's energy minister, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, said Noblehad sought approval from the Cypriot government to include BGGroup in the consortium.
Lakkotrypis said Noble would remain operator of the Aphrodite field, with it and BG Group holding 35 percent eachand Delek Group 30 percent.
The island's cabinet is expected to review the request inearly December.
"This is a very important development which highlights theconfidence and prospects in Cyprus's exclusive economic zonefrom a company with such a large international presence," saidLakkotrypis, referring to BG.
In a separate statement, BG said: "This upstream positionprovides a potential source of gas to Egypt where BG Group holdsequity in the two train LNG export facility at Idku as well asLNG offtake rights to lift 3.6 mtpa (million tonnes per annum)."
Royal Dutch Shell has launched a $70 billiontakeover bid for BG Group. (Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by Adrian Croft)
