Egyptian Oil Ministry denies any links to Israel’s Leviathan gas deal

Egyptian government has nothing to do with the agreement signed between Leviathan and Dolphinus Holdings, a senior source from Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry said Wednesday.

Dolphinus is a firm that represents non-governmental, industrial and commercial consumers in Egypt; while Leviathan is owned by a group led by Texas-based Noble Energy and Israeli conglomerate Delek Group.

The source further said that companies wishing to import foreign gas must obtain state approval. It “must achieve a national interest for Egypt and must have added value for the economy”, the source said.

The state, the source added, does not mind allowing private sector companies that wish to import gas for their own use or for a range of industries to use the infrastructure and facilities owned by the state in exchange for a tariff to be agreed.

Earlier Wednesday, the partners in Israel’s offshore natural gas field Leviathan said they signed a preliminary deal to supply gas to Egypt via an existing underwater pipeline to the Sinai peninsula.

Under the deal, Leviathan — which is expected to begin production in 2019-2020 — would supply Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings with up to 4 billion cubic meters of gas a year for 10 to 15 years, the partners said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

The price of gas is similar to other contracts and is linked to the price of Brent oil, they said.