Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif announced that Egypt plans to supply Lebanon with natural gas, the official news agency Mena reported on Monday.
Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi was reported to have said that Egypt and Lebanon signed an agreement whereby Egypt will supply Lebanon with natural gas through an Arab natural gas pipeline.
The news reports did not specify exact dates when Egypt plans to begin supplying Lebanon with natural gas.
According to the spokesman, Nazif told visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora the agreement was part of an effort to support Lebanon s reconstruction process after the month-long war between Hezbollah and Israel last July.
During Seniora’s visit, Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi also held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Mohammed Safadi, who accompanied the Lebanese PM on the visit, on gas purchase along with the ongoing construction of the Arab gas pipeline.
According to Mena reports, the gas pipeline starts at El-Arish in northern Sinai and will first reach the Rehab area on the Jordanian-Syrian borders. But the Mena report didn t say when or how the pipeline would be extended to Lebanon.
Egypt, with a natural gas reserve of some 2.2 trillion cubic meters, is the sixth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world, with most exports going to European nations.
