A number of executives from major Israeli energy companies have unveiled an expanded plan to connect the Israeli offshore system to transport gas and increase gas supplies to Egypt.
Jeff Ewing, business director for the eastern Mediterranean at Israeli energy company Chevron, said the switch to natural gas from former Israeli coal-fired power plants would improve air quality and improve Israel’s relationship with Egypt.
He added that gas production is a good source of income for the Israeli government, in addition to paying more than NIS 15 billion to the state in taxes and revenues, explaining that the Israeli economy has saved NIS 130 billion thanks to the Israeli government.
In the same context, Yossi Abu, CEO of Newmed Energy, said: “The Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian transportation systems have been merged. Israel has become connected to Jordan in the north by a pipeline that reaches Aqaba and then crosses all of Jordan. A pipeline connecting Ashkelon with Egyptian transport network.
He added that NewMed is currently working on connecting a pipeline linking Ashkelon and Ashdod, thus linking Israel’s offshore gas transportation system with each other, in order to increase gas supplies to Egypt.
He pointed out that “the Egyptian market is huge,” saying, “It’s a country of over 100 million people and it needs a lot of natural gas, roughly 100 billion cubic meters a year. This is a huge reservoir. which can absorb any supply we pass to it to meet needs, and now Egypt needs to open two more tanks the size of Israel’s huge Leviathan tank, and so it’s an almost endless market.”
He added that Israel has a natural gas block and is working primarily to meet the gas needs of the Israeli economy, showing that Tel Aviv is working to establish an independent Israeli facility dedicated to liquefying natural gas, which will allow Israel to be the source of natural gas in Israel. Europe and Asia, not only through Egypt and Jordan, but also an independent source of LNG to Europe and Asia.
Source: Calcalist, Israeli economic newspaper.
