Israel-Egypt gas export deal shapes up

Practical steps have been taken that could eventually enable gas from Israel’s offshore to be piped to Egypt

Israel's Delek, the US-based firm Noble and Egypt's East Gas have established a company (Emed) to buy 39% of the 26in, 90km (56-mile) East Mediterranean Gas pipeline for $518m. This investment, combined with a transportation agreement, will provide the partners with the exclusive rights to use all the pipeline's capacity. Of the $518m, the Leviathan and Tamar offshore gasfield partners will each pay $125m, whilst Delek and Noble will each pay another $60m. Most significantly, the East Gas company, which also owns the pipeline from Aqaba in Jordan to el-Arish in Egypt, will invest $148m, which is a considerable amount for Egypt. This strategic partnership with a leading Egyptian infrastructur