Israel's Leviathan signs $35 billion natural gas supply deal with Egypt
Israel's Leviathan natural gas field has signed the largest export agreement in the country's history, worth up to $35 billion, to supply gas to Egypt, NewMed , one of the partners in the field, said on Thursday.
The deal should ease an energy crisis in Egypt, which has spent billions of dollars on importing liquefied natural gas since its own supplies fell short of demand.
Egypt's production began declining in 2022, forcing it to abandon its ambitions to become a regional supply hub. It has increasingly turned to Israel to make up the shortfall.
Exports from Leviathan were halted during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June for security reasons but have since resumed.
Under the deal announced on Thursday, Leviathan, off Israel's Mediterranean coast, with reserves of some 600 billion cubic meters, will sell about 130 bcm of gas to Egypt through 2040, or until all of the contract quantities are fulfilled.
The gas is pumped via pipelines, which makes it cheaper than LNG, the cost of which is inflated by the super-cooling required to make it a liquid that can be transported by ship and regasifying it when it reaches its destination.