Israel to begin exporting gas to Egypt next month

A correspondent in Egypt

Dec 11, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz speak during the inauguration event of the newly arrived foundation platform of the Leviathan natural gas field, in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, Israel, Jan. 31, 2019. — Marc Israel Sellem/Pool via REUTERS

عربي

CAIRO — Egypt will soon start working off a debt to Israel by importing Israeli natural gas.

Egypt had faced a $1.76 billion settlement awarded to state-owned Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) in 2015 because Egyptian companies for years had been unable to fulfill a long-term contract to supply IEC with natural gas at a fixed rate. To reduce that settlement to $500 million, Egypt is reversing the flow, so to speak, and will buy gas from Israel.