The pipeline, which would run below sea level, could double the export volume of natural gas exports from Israel to Egypt. There it would be liquefied and exported further to Europe or Asia. The plan was presented by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
Israel began exporting natural gas to Egypt last year through an existing pipeline that runs through the Sinai Peninsula. But Egypt and Israel have recently agreed to connect a second pipeline to transport raw materials from the Leviathan gas field to the Idku and Damietta terminals.
It is located in the Mediterranean Sea about 130 kilometers off the coast of Israel. Leviathan supplies both the Israeli market and part of the gas to Jordan and also to Egypt. However, if another pipeline were built, Israeli gas exports to Egypt could double. This was stated by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz during a meeting at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum organized by Cairo.
According to Steinitz, the construction of the new gas pipeline should take a year or two and could transport around 10 million cubic meters of natural gas a year.“But it could be more in the future,” Steinitz said. He also said that gas that would be liquefied in Egyptian refineries could supply Europe for at least 15 years and that India could also be interested in it.
