Israel will export natural gas to Egypt worth $35 billion

Jerusalem.- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this Wednesday the signing of a natural gas export contract to Egypt worth 35 billion dollars at a press conference alongside Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen.

"This agreement ensures the future of future generations (of Israel)," the leader said during the official announcement.

"Above all, it requires companies to sell gas at a good price to Israeli citizens," the prime minister assured. "Some fiercely opposed the extraction of gas from the waters. They said we would destroy the economy, but today it is clear that gas extraction has generated enormous benefits for Israel," he added.

The Israeli group NewMed, which manages the Leviathan natural gas field together with Chevron and the also Israeli Ratio Energies, already reported this August of the agreement, which foresees the export of the energy resource to Egypt until 2040.

However, Minister Cohen's office reported that it would not approve the agreement until "fair prices for the Israeli market were agreed upon"; something that, according to what he affirmed today with Netanyahu, has been assured.

The prime minister expressed his gratitude to Cohen for his management of the negotiation process, and concluded his announcement to the press assuring "the minister and Israeli citizens" that "there will be more positive surprises soon."

Natural Gas Sale in Two Phases

The agreement contemplates the sale of 130,000 million cubic meters of natural gas through two phases. The first, which will begin in the first half of 2026, includes the sale of 20,000 million cubic meters, after the construction of a third pipeline from the field to the production platform is completed and the new transmission line between the coasts of Ashdod and Ashkelon, in southern Israel, is launched. The second phase includes the sale of 110,000 million cubic meters of natural gas to Egypt, and will begin once the expansion project of the Leviathan field is completed. The agreement will be in force until 2040 or until the sale of the agreed quantities is completed, NewMed detailed in its report, published this August. After the news was made public this summer, the shares of NewMed and Ratio rose 6 and 5.5%, respectively, ten minutes after the opening of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 2019, those responsible for the field already signed a first agreement to supply Egypt with 60,000 million cubic meters of natural gas, of which some 23,500 million have already been supplied, according to NewMed.