Looking forward to Egypt and Israel To increase their exports of natural gas to Europe Under a memorandum of understanding signed on Wednesday, as the continent seeks to compensate for Russian energy imports.
The Israeli Energy Ministry said the Framework Agreement signed with the European Union today will be the first to allow “significant” exports of Israeli gas to Europe.
The ministry added that the European Union will encourage, under this agreement, European companies to participate in exploration bids in Egypt and Israel.
Some Israeli gas already flows through pipelines to liquefaction facilities in Egypt on the Mediterranean coast and is re-exported as LNG.
Officials say they expect LNG shipments from Egypt to Europe to increase after the deal, but said it may take two years before there is a significant increase in exports.
Egypt is also a gas exporter, but high domestic demand is limiting its exports.
Double Israel’s production
“Today, Egypt and Israel are committed to sharing natural gas with Europe and helping to solve the energy crisis,” Israeli Energy Minister Karen Al-Harr said after signing the memorandum of understanding in Cairo.
Egypt exported 8.9 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas last year and 4.7 billion cubic meters in the first five months of this year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, although most of it goes to Asia.
Sources from the gas sector said that Israel is on its way to double its gas production in the next few years to reach about 40 billion cubic meters annually by expanding projects and starting new fields.
The European Union imported 155 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia last year, or 40% of its consumption.
Zero Emission Level Target
The agreement is an acknowledgment of the pivotal role natural gas will play in the EU energy market until 2030.
After that, natural gas use is expected to decline in line with the bloc’s commitments to reach zero emissions by 2050.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum hosted by Egypt, which was formed in 2020, and aims to promote gas trade between the countries of the region, including Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Jordan. It is also signed during a visit to Cairo by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
“This is a big step forward in the field of energy supply to Europe,” von der Leyen said after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, adding that the EU wanted to work with Egypt in the long term to increase renewable energy supplies.
Part of that, she said, is an ambitious hydrogen production partnership that is expected to be launched when Egypt hosts the COP27 climate conference in November.
“I see it as a first step that leads to an agreement at the level of the Mediterranean region, because I see that the energy supplies were mostly traditionally in the northern part, and now they are shifting towards the south and east,” she said.
Egypt recently signed several preliminary agreements on environmentally friendly hydrogen and ammonia projects on the Red Sea coast.