Israel expects subsea pipeline might double its gas exports to Egypt

Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Tuesday that a subsea pipeline that would connect the Israeli Leviathan gas field to Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals could double Israel’s gas export capacity to Egypt.

Israel commenced exporting gas to Egypt at the beginning of 2020 through an existing pipeline that runs offshore before crossing the north of the Sinai Peninsula overland. The gas could be liquefied at Egyptian plants of Idku and Damietta and re-exported to Europe or Asia.

In February, the two countries said they had agreed to plan for the second pipeline.

The Egyptian and Israeli governments would promote the subsea pipeline “in order to double the amount of gas that we can send to the Egyptian LNG facilities,” Steinitz added in an interview.

Leviathan gas field, located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, already supplies the Israeli domestic market and exports gas to Jordan and Egypt. Its shareholders involves Chevron Corp and Delek Drilling LP.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to the companies involved to decide, but since it’s very realistic, I believe that it will take a year or two and you should see such a pipeline,” the minister said.

Asked what capacity the new pipeline would have, Steinitz said: “I think to start with, we’re speaking about a possible 10 bcm (billion cubic metres annually), but it might increase in the future.”

The minister, in Cairo for a meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, said he was optimistic that demand for gas in Europe would be sufficient to make additional exports viable for at least the upcoming 15 years, and that more rapidly growing demand in India also provided a promising market.