EU Pushes for Gas Deal with Egypt and Israel

The European Commission has proposed a deal to EU members to pull in gas from Egypt, Israel and Eastern Mediterranean fields in general based on reports from a draft document seen by Reuters which has not been made public. The EU view the countries as key partners in moving away from Russian gas.

• "The natural gas to be shipped to the European Union will originate either from the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Israel, or any other source in the East Mediterranean region, including EU Member States in the region," the draft document says.
• The EU publicly announced last week it is working on a trilateral agreement with Israel and Egypt to bring gas into Europe.
• Israel is aiming to make use of Egypt’s LNG export capabilities which would require gas to be piped between the countries and then exported by vessel to Europe.
• Under the draft agreement, Egypt would be able to purchase some of the gas being transported to the EU or other countries via Egyptian infrastructure. The document adds that Egypt could use it for its own consumption or for export.
• Israel has expansion plans for gas fields off its coast but has run into further issues with Lebanon this week regarding the positioning of the sea border between the two nations gas assets. The US is sending out a mediator to try and calm tensions at the end of this week.