The Ministry of Petroleum welcomed the agreements concluded by private companies of various nationalities, in order to export gas produced from the fields of Leviathan and Tamar to Egypt.
The actual steps for signing the contracts between the Israeli side and Dolphinus Energy are expected after the termination of the procedures for waiving the arbitration cases filed with a value of $1.988bn by the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Company and the Israel Electric Corporation.
A source in the oil sector said that exporting Israeli gas though the Egyptian liquefaction plants will be in the form of commercial contracts between the private sector, while the Egyptian government will only be responsible for approvals and procedures, and will, in turn, receive a commission for that. In exchange, the international arbitration will be waived.
The International Chamber of Commerce in Geneva in 2015 issued a decree requiring the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum through the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to pay a compensation to the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Company worth $288m. Another provision was issued requiring Egypt to pay $1.7bn for the Israeli Electricity Company.
He explained that the Egyptian liquefaction plants are a major hub in the Mediterranean region for the export of gas to the European markets, because in the current situation, the single plant needs investments amounting to $7bn, and two years to be implemented.
The source pointed out that Egypt has two plants with an exporting capacity of 1.88bn cubic feet per day, along with a domestic grid, which can accommodate 9bn cubic feet per day.
He stressed that the Israeli gas has not been released from the fields since it announced the discovery in 2014, and it did not carry out the development of self-sufficiency, and its gas production is still at 6.75bn cubic feet per day, against market needs of 6.3 bn cubic feet per day, as Israel does not have the infrastructure for that.
Egypt achieved self-sufficiency of gas domestically, with production reaching 6.75bn cubic feet per day against needs of 6.bn cubic feet per day.
