Despite decades of conflict, deep political mistrust and wider tensions across the Middle East and Africa, Egypt and Israel are expanding a $35 billion gas partnership, showing how energy security can outweigh regional rivalry.
Israel Natural Gas Lines has completed a 45-kilometre subsea pipeline linking Ashdod and Ashkelon, clearing a major infrastructure bottleneck that had limited natural gas exports to Egypt.
The pipeline connects the Leviathan gas reception facility in Ashdod to the East Mediterranean Gas pipeline near Ashkelon, from where gas will flow to facilities in El-Arish, Egypt.
Its completion allows Chevron, NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies, the partners in the Leviathan gas reservoir, to increase supplies to Egypt’s Blue Ocean Energy under an export agreement valued at about $35 billion over roughly 10 years.
Pipeline expands export capacity
