Egypt Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said his country would consider importing natural gas from Israel to tackle its power crisis.
Ismail told Egypt’s Al-Musawar magazine yesterday: “Anything can happen. Whatever achieves the best interests of Egypt, and of the Egyptian economy and the role of Egypt in the region… that will determine the decision to import gas from Israel.”
This is the first statement by an Egyptian official not ruling out the possibility of importing gas from Israel.
Egypt suffers from high energy costs due to the country’s large fuel subsidies to fulfil 87 million people’s demands.
Israel’s Delek Drilling said in November that the group will build an underwater pipeline to supply Egypt’s liquefied natural gas plant at the north-eastern port of Damietta.
Egypt relies heavily on gas to power homes and factories.