EXCLUSIVE Israel considering new pipeline to boost gas exports to Egypt - REUTERS

October 21, 2021 4:14 PM EEST

By Ron Bousso and Ari Rabinovitch

• Israel, Egypt holding talks on new onshore pipeline -ministry
• New pipeline expected to cost $200 mln -industry sources
• Pipeline will boost exports by 3 to 5 bcm/year -industry sources

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Israel is considering the construction of a new onshore pipeline to Egypt in order to quickly boost natural gas exports to its neighbour in the wake of the recent tightening of global supplies, the Israeli energy ministry said.

The pipeline, which will connect the Israeli and Egyptian natural gas grids through the north of the Sinai peninsula, is estimated to cost around $200 million and could be operational within 24 months, industry sources who are close to the discussions told Reuters.

Sinai Security Fears Snare Israel's Gas Exports to Egypt - HAARETZ

Tamar Petroleum's IPO back in July 2017 

Sep 16, 2019 3:13 AM

Eran Azran

• Egypt says Israeli gas exports on track but cites low figures
• Israel to begin gas exports to Egypt within months, energy minister says
• Egypt praised for economic reforms, but millions of Egyptians barely survive

Investor anxieties over the Tamar natural gas field have deepened in recent days amid security concerns about the pipeline designated to deliver Israeli gas to Egypt.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that delays in completing a key agreement to facilitate the exports were due to the tense security situation in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“There’s some infrastructure that needs to be repaired in that area. That’s part of the holdup for shipping the gas,” the paper quoted U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette as saying. “No one wants to send individuals into harm’s way.”

Israel, Egypt mull Sinai LNG plant for Asian exports - GLOBES

28 Jul, 2019 18:40
Amiram Barkat

Building such a facility on the Red Sea shore for liquid natural gas exports would cost $10-15 billion.

Egypt and Israel are considering construction of a liquefaction facility on the shores of the Red Sea in Sinai through which natural gas can be exported to markets in Asia, sources inform "Globes." The initiative is similar to the one previously promoted by Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. (EAPC), which wanted the facility to be in Israeli territory near Eilat. The idea was shelved due to strong opposition, among other things by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

This time, the idea is to construct the facility on the Egyptian side of the border, which will make it possible to overcome the opposition to the huge project. In Egypt, the ability to delay such projects for environmental reasons is much more limited. Furthermore, a liquefaction project on Egyptian territory can provide jobs for thousands of Egyptians during the construction stage and hundreds more during the operational stage.

Building the facility on the Red Sea is designed to open the option of exporting Israeli and Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the East Asian market: India, China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, which constitute 70% of the global liquefied gas market. The cost of building a medium-sized land-based liquefaction facility is projected in the $10-15 billion range.

Egypt Announces New Oil Discovery in Sinai - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Thursday, 4th July 2019

Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) has achieved a new oil discovery in the Abu Rudeis concession area in Sinai, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

Petrobel drilled an exploration well through which it was able to reach a 35-meter layer of sedimentary rocks and a 65-meter layer of limestone rocks, where production began using current facilities at the concession area, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced.

The company has laid out a plan to drill 10 developmental wells with a crude oil production rate of around 3,000 barrels per day (b/d) and plans to enhance production using hydraulic fracturing, according to the report presented to the Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El Molla, by Petrobel Chairman Atef Hassan.

The new discovery represents a milestone for Petrobel since the Abu Rudeis field is one of the oldest in Egypt, dating back to 1957.

According to the ministry, these positive results have encouraged the foreign partner to pump more investments into various concession areas.

Pipeline Snag to Delay Israel Gas to Egypt for 3 Months - BLOOMBERG

March 17, 2019, 2:47 PM GMT+2

Yaacov Benmeleh

• Egypt expects to get first test flows mid-year, not March
• Israel will pipe gas to Egypt under a $15 billion deal

Egypt will begin receiving gas from Israel under a $15 billion deal around the middle of the year, after unexpected issues with the pipeline connecting the two countries delayed the start-up by several months, people familiar with the situation said.

Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla told the CERAWeek conference in Houston last week that the government expects the first flows of Israeli gas to arrive around mid-year.

He didn’t give details, but two people familiar with the situation said due diligence by the companies involved had discovered that the pipeline would require more work than expected to bring it online. The Egyptian partner in the project had said he expected trial quantities to begin flowing in March if the pipeline was found to be in good condition.

The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and their Egyptian partner agreed last year to buy a 39 percent of the East Mediterranean Gas Co., which owns the sub-sea pipeline connecting southern Israel to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, clearing the main legal obstacle to the 10-year export contract.

Israeli Gas Exports to Egypt Will Initially Flow Through pan-Arab Pipeline - HAARETZ / REUTERS

Nov 20, 2018 4:19 AM

Ora Coren

When exports of Israeli natural gas to Egypt being sometime in the first half of next year, they won’t be going through the EMG pipeline in Sinai but through Israel’s domestic network and then on to the so-called pan-Arab pipeline.

Yossi Abu, chief executive of Delek Drilling, a partner in the two Israeli gas fields that will be selling energy to Egypt, said the EMG pipeline would only be used at a later stage. Later still, he said, gas from Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan fields would be delivered directly to EMG, thereby avoiding the Israeli domestic pipeline network altogether.

Speaking at an energy conference, Abu expressed optimism regarding exports not only to Egypt but to elsewhere in the region. Apart from exports to Egypt, he said the pipeline between Israel and Jordan would begin pumping in May or June next year and be fully operational by the end of 2019, ahead of schedule.

“We’ve succeeded in opening up the Egyptian economy, but that’s just the start,” Abu said. “There’s a lot to do on a regional level and that way become a global player.”

Abu spoke as Ron Adam, a Foreign Ministry official, told the conference that a decision on a Mediterranean gas pipeline linking Israel to Italy via Cyprus and Greece would be made next year after a market survey was completed.

If the survey reveals there is demand from European customers, the projected 2,100-kilometer, 25-billion-shekel ($6.75 billion) pipeline would come on line in 2025. An agreement between all the countries involved is expected to be signed at the end of the month.

Egypt signs 2 new agreements for oil, gas exploration - EGYPT TODAY

CAIRO, Mon, Aug. 20, 2018

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Molla signed two new agreements for the exploration of oil and natural gas in Sinai and the Suez Gulf with investments of $65 million.

The minister also signed grants of $3.5 million, an official statement revealed.

The first agreement is signed with General Petroleum Company (GPC) in Sinai to improve its production in the frame of the Ministry of Petroleum’s plans to increase production and support the national companies working in oil and exploration field.

The statement referred that the second agreement was signed with the Petroleum Corporation and Zaafarana Petroleum Company, Oceaneer Zaafarana, and Sahary for Oil and Gas in the Gulf of Suez.

Molla announced that the number of signed petroleum agreements reached 61 new agreements since 2017 with a minimum investment of $14 billion to explore oil and gas in Egypt’s Egypt's land and sea areas.

Israel's Delek Drilling seeks shareholder approval for Egypt pipeline investment - REUTERS

JUNE 11, 2018 / 3:20 PM

Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Susan Fenton

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Shareholders in Israel’s Delek Drilling will vote next month on whether to approve a $200 million investment that will allow the company to export gas to Egypt via a subsea pipeline.

Delek announced on Monday that it would hold a special shareholders’ meeting on July 1 to decide whether to go ahead with the investment in East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), which operates a pipeline to carry gas between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Delek and Texas-based Noble Energy are partners in the large Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields off Israel’s coast and signed deals in February with Egyptian firm Dolphinus Holdings to sell $15 billion of gas.

Delek and Noble have been negotiating to buy the rights to use EMG’s pipeline, which was built years ago as part of a now-defunct Egyptian-Israeli natural gas deal but has been out of use.

Arbitrator: EMG Due $1.03b From Egypt Over Canceled Gas Contract- HAARETZ

Feb 19, 2018 12:43 AM
Eran Azran 

A lengthy dispute over compensation after Egyptian gas companies cut off the supply of natural gas to Israel six years ago is moving forward in Israel’s favor, thanks to a ruling that the Egyptians had violated their country’s trade treaty with Poland.

The Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration ruled that East Mediterranean Gas, the company that operated the pipeline that had been delivering the gas to Israel, should be awarded $1.033 billion plus interest.

If the award is paid out, that could enable the bondholders of Ampal-American – an Israeli holding company controlled by Yossi Maiman that owned 12.5% of EMG – to collect on the 800 million shekels ($225.8 million at current exchange rates) still owned them after Ampal went bankrupt after EMG’s supply of gas was ended.

The decision by the Cairo-based arbitrator came after the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, or UNCITRAL, ruled that the Egyptian Natural Gas and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation had violated the terms of the Egyptian-Polish trade treaty’s clauses protecting investors.

Gov’t will only approve gas imports from Israel after disputes are resolved -El Molla - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

The government will not issue permits to companies to import natural gas from Israel until the arbitration cases between Egypt and Israel are resolved, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said, according to Reuters. The government will sign off on agreements to import from our eastern neighbor only once the disputes are resolved and under the condition that the agreements “add value,” El Molla say. “Delegations [from Israel] are healthy as it means there are discussions and negotiations, but they have to meet the conditions put by the government as that is only fair,” he says. “In 2015, the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Egypt to pay USD 2 bn in compensation after [an agreement] to export gas to Israel via pipeline collapsed in 2012 due to attacks by insurgents in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula,” the newswire notes.

Distribution of Rigs in Egypt - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Mediterra Energy raises production by 17% from Sinai fields - ENERGY EGYPT / MUBASHER

July 4, 2017

The Egyptian minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El Molla said that oil production in Sinai fields increased from 1,200 to 1,400 barrels per day since July 2016.

These fields include Ras Sudr, Asl, and Matarma, and they are all located on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez.

Tarek El Molla added in a statement on Tuesday that raising production comes as a result of the agreement with Mediterra Energy Corporation.

El Molla discusses investments with Greece-based Vegas CEO - ENTERPRISE

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

Greece’s Vegas Oil and Gas intends to increase its investments in Egypt in the coming period and will be participating in upcoming oil and gas exploration tenders, CEO David Evans told Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla in a meeting yesterday, according to a ministry statement. 

Vegas operates in the East Lagia concession in Sinai, where it is running ground gravity tests and magnetic surveys.

El Molla Reviews GPC Work - EGYPT OIL & GAS

Wednesday, 28th June 2017

A press release to Egypt Oil&Gas stated that the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, praised the work results of the state-owned General Petroleum Company (EGPC) upon receiving a report from GPC’s CEO, Moustafa Taher, around the work status in Ras Sedr, Asal, and Matarma fields in Sinai.

El Molla pointed out the importance of commitment in executing the Egyptian oil and gas production plans, aiming for production from new and existing fields in oil and gas concession areas like Sinai through using new technologies.

The minister further highlighted the importance of establishing productive projects according to schedule and of achieving required performance based on health and safety standards.

Swiss court obliges Egypt to pay $2 bln to Israel over suspension of gas exports - EGYPT INDEPENDENT / AL MASRY AL YOUM

Sun, 30/04/2017 - 13:27
Taha Sakr

A Swiss court ordered Egypt to pay $2 billion on Friday to a state-run Israeli electricity company as compensation for suspended gas shipments due to frequent attacks on pipelines in the Sinai Peninsula which deliver gas from Egypt to Israel.

According to a message from the Israeli firm to Bloomberg news agency, both the state-run Egyptian General Authority for Oil and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) were assigned to pay the fine.

"Both companies should bear the responsibility for damages caused due to frequent attacks on pipelines that pass through the Sinai to Israel," the electricity company's message read.

Egyptian Energy Companies Told to Compensate Israel Over Halted Gas Supply - HAARETZ / REUTERS

Reuters Apr 30, 2017 8:59 AM

Egypt sold gas to Israel under a 20-year agreement that collapsed in 2012 after months of repeated attacks by insurgents on a Sinai pipeline (Ampal Pipeline)

A Swiss court has rejected an appeal by Egyptian energy companies after a French court last year ordered them to pay $2 billion in compensation to state-owned Israel Electric Corporation, the Israeli utility said.

An IEC statement on Friday said that Egyptian Natural Gas and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation were liable because they were unable to fulfill their commitment to provide it with natural gas for its power stations.

The Egyptian petroleum ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Swiss Court Fines Egypt $2 Billion, Muddies Mideast Gas Market - BLOOMBERG

27 April 2017, 7:54 μ.μ. EEST

Yaacov Benmeleh & Tamim Elyan

• Court says Egypt breached contract to supply gas to Israel
• Israel now hoping to export natural gas to southern neighbor

A Swiss court ordered Egyptian natural gas companies to pay Israel’s state-owned electricity provider $2 billion in fines for breach of previous contracts, a step that could complicate chances for the two nations to sign future gas deals as Israel seeks to become an energy exporter.

The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland said Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding were liable for the damages caused by repeated attacks on a pipeline through the Sinai Desert that supplied gas to its neighbor, Israel Electric Co. said in a text message Thursday. The Egyptian companies had appealed a previous ruling from Dec. 2015 that imposed a $1.73 billion penalty.

Egypt's navy commander: new Mistral carrier can be used to protect offshore oil fields - AHRAM ONLINE

Friday, 7 Oct 2016

Egypt's new Mistral Carrier near Egyptian shores (Photo: Official Egyptian armed forces spokesperson Facebook page)

Egypt's naval forces commander Osama Rabie stated on Friday that the new Mistral-class carrier "Anwar El-Sadat" can be used in a range of missions, from confronting militancy in the North Sinai to protecting oil fields at sea.

Responding to a question from reporters about the role of the ship - newly acquired from France to combat terrorism in North Sinai - Rabie said it can be used to transfer land troops and armored vehicles.

The vice admiral also said that the carrier, named after late President Sadat, would play a role in securing Egypt's oil and gas fields off shore, which he says include 99 rigs in total.

The Israel-Egypt partnership deepens - THE HILL

August 05, 2016, 02:26 pm
By Oren Kessler, contributor

Egypt last week marked Revolution Day, the day commemorating the 1952 Free Officers' revolt that toppled the playboy King Farouk. Next door in Israel, the Egyptian embassy threw a party.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife attended, as did its president. Flags of both nations flew; anthems of both were sung. Balloons in the Egyptian colors were strewn over the embassy pool, and a woman dressed like Cleopatra delivered remarks. It was the first time in six years that Egypt's embassy in Tel Aviv publicly marked the event.

It was an extraordinary gesture, and these are extraordinary times in the relationship between two of Washington's keystone allies in the Eastern Mediterranean. Two weeks prior, Sameh Shoukry became the first Egyptian foreign minister in nine years to visit Israel — breaking years of unwritten government protocol that ties with the Jewish state would be handled by the intelligence services.

Egypt signs 5-year oil agreement with Saudi Arabia - AHRAM ONLINE

Monday 21 Mar 2016

A $1.5 billion deal was signed at the fifth Egyptian-Saudi cooperation council meeting in Riyadh to fund Sinai's development. (Photo Courtesy of the Ministry of International Cooperation.)

Egypt signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia, under which the North African nation will meet its needs of oil products for five years, Egyptian international cooperation ministry stated on its website on Sunday.

The signing is part of the fifth meeting of the Egyptian-Saudi coordination council held in Riyadh and chaired by Egyptian minister of international cooperation Sahar Nasr.

In January, Saudi Arabia pledged $20 billion worth of petroleum products to Egypt over five years with facilitated payments.