Delek, Noble and Egypt Sign $518 Million EMG Pipeline Deal - BLOOMBERG

September 27, 2018, 10:45 AM GMT+3
Yaacov Benmeleh and Mirette Magdy

• Purchase gives buyers the right to operate EMG’s gas pipeline
• Deal paves way for $15 billion Israel-Egypt gas export plan

The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and their Egyptian partner have bought control of a pipeline to Egypt, clearing legal obstacles to a $15 billion deal to export gas from the Jewish state to its former enemy. Shares of Israeli gas stocks rose.

Delek, Noble and Egypt said to put final touches on gas deal - WORLD OIL

8/AUGUST/2018MIRETTE MAGDY and YAACOV BENMELEH

CAIRO and TEL AVIV (Bloomberg) -- The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and their Egyptian partner have finalized details of a deal that would give them control over a pipeline to Egypt, according to people familiar with the matter, a crucial step that would pave the way for a $15-billion export contract.

The deal involves setting up joint venture companies in Cyprus and the Netherlands, through which Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. and their Egyptian partner, East Gas, would buy a 37% stake in Eastern Mediterranean Gas Co., held by businessmen Sam Zell and Yosef Maiman, among others.

An initial agreement is expected to be signed in a month or less, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Separately, efforts also involve a substantial reduction of a $1.76-billion fine imposed on Egypt by an arbitration court in favor of Israel Electric Corp.

The agreements would eliminate legal obstacles to implementing the gas export contract, seen as a step adding economic depth to a relationship dominated by security since the two countries signed a peace treaty more than four decades ago. It would also advance Egypt’s plan to capitalize on its own giant Zohr gas field and become a regional energy hub.

Shares of Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP, a partner in an Israeli gas field that is party to the export deal with Egypt, rose as much as 3% on the news. The Tel Aviv Oil & Gas Index gained as much as 0.9% to 902.58, the highest in one month.

The deal is shaping up as follows:

Israel, Egypt Gas Cos Near Deal to Control EMG Pipeline - BLOOMBERG

June 14, 2018, 5:40 PM GMT+3Mirette Magdy and Yaacov Benmeleh

• Delek, Noble, Egyptian partner said in talks to buy 37% stake
• Deal would end key obstacle to $15B Israel-Egypt gas contract

The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and an Egyptian partner are close to a deal that would give them control of the pipeline to Egypt, eliminating some of the outstanding legal disputes that have impeded progress on a $15 billion export contract.

Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. and an Egyptian company are in advanced talks to buy 37 percent of East Mediterranean Gas Ltd., which operates the undersea pipeline that connects to Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, people familiar with the matter said. The buyout would give the companies the largest voting bloc in EMG and they expect to reach an agreement with other stakeholders to control and operate the pipeline, the people said.

The stakes under discussion include those currently owned by businessmen Sam Zell and Yossi Maiman, who had successfully filed arbitration cases against Egypt over a previous deal. The buyout would clear a major obstacle to the use of EMG’s pipeline to transport 64 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan fields to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings Ltd. over 10 years.