The Export of Israeli Gas to Egypt Becomes a Priority for Cairo

The export of Israeli gas to Egypt has now become one of Cairo’s priorities, especially in light of the decline in production at the Zor field, as well as the suspension of liquefied gas exports since June.

Exploring the Possibility of Increasing Israeli Gas Exports

In this context, the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum is currently exploring the possibility of increasing Israeli gas exports to Egypt, preparing to discuss this issue at the forum’s ministerial meeting next December, according to the head of the EU delegation to Egypt, Ambassador Christian Berger.

He added that Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz commented on the move on Twitter on the social networking site (X), stating: “This will strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Tel Aviv and Cairo and support the strategic energy relationship between Egypt and Israel.”

During his speech at the 2023 National Energy Conference in Tel Aviv on August 1 (2023), Katz mentioned what might be called “energy barter”.

He said Tel Aviv is seeking to “close the gap” in renewable energy production in cooperation with Egypt and is ready to increase gas exports to Cairo.

Egypt’s Electricity Crisis

Egypt has been suffering from an electricity crisis for almost two months now, prompting authorities to cut power across the country for two hours or more daily to ease the load.

Egypt’s power outage crisis came to a head in July last year due to unprecedented high temperatures as a result of a heat dome that engulfed a number of countries, including Egypt.

Uncertainty Surrounding the Export Deal

The head of the EU delegation to Egypt, Ambassador Christian Berger, did not answer the question of the specialized energy platform about the deal for the export of Israeli gas to Europe after its liquefaction in Egypt and about Israel’s agreement to increase exports to Egypt from the Tamar offshore field, whether it was a step towards achieving it or not.

Decrease in the Value of Egypt’s Gas Exports

According to the data of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the value of exports of natural and liquefied gas from Egypt this year (2023) has dropped sharply.

And agency data showed as of August 8 (2023) a decrease in the value of Egypt’s exports of natural and liquefied gas by 69.7% year-on-year in May.

The value of total exports, including the export of Egyptian gas, was about $3.38 billion in May last year (2023), compared to $4.28 billion in the same period last year (2022).

Egypt’s Israeli gas imports in May 2023 are up 21.3% compared to the same period last year in 2022, as Egypt is one of the main destinations for Israeli gas exports and imports gas from Tel Aviv via pipelines before it resumes-export it again upon request.

Source: Power platform.