Israel discusses gas export to Egypt

A delegation by Israel’s Tamar group arrived Sunday in Cairo on an official visit to finalise a gas export deal with Egypt’s Dolphins Holding, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday, quoting an official source at Cairo International Airport.

The Israeli delegation is formed of three senior officials from the Tamar Group, according to the source.

The source added that the delegation is scheduled to meet with senior officials of the Dolphin Holding, a firm that represents non-governmental, industrial and commercial consumers in Egypt, to continue discussions on an export deal of gas from Israeli fields in the coming months.

According to local media agencies, this is the second visit for the delegation in a week, during which the two companies discussed establishing a new gas pipeline to supply Egypt with natural gas from Israel’s offshore Tamar gas field. The pipeline establishment is estimated at $500 million.

Last Tuesday, the official spokesperson of Egypt’s petroleum ministry, Hamdy Abdel Aziz, said that although Egyptian government is welcoming the deal, it has not been involved in it.

Israel’s offshore Tamar gas field was discovered in 2009 and is estimated to contain nearly 10 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.