Delek to Decide on Egypt Pipeline Investment in July

Tuesday, 12th June 2018
by Editorial Team

MEDITERRANEAN SEA, ISRAEL – FEBRUARY 2013: In this handout image provided by Albatross, The Tamar drilling natural gas production platform is seen some 25 kilometers West of the Ashkelon shore in February 2013 in Israel. The offshore Tamar drilling site which was originally dispatched from a shipyard in Texas at the end of last year is due to start producing natural gas next week. Over the past few years Israel has suffered from a shortage in natural gas, but with the new platform that weighs 34,000 tons and will be mainly operated by Israelis, the US company Nobel Energy which owns a 36% stake in Tamar, hopes to change Israel’s energy situation as well as the economy as a whole. (Photo Photo by Albatross via Getty Images)

Delek Drilling shareholders will meet on July 1 to vote on whether to approve a $200 million investment in a subsea pipeline to Egypt, Reuters reported.

The proposed pipeline would allow the company to export natural gas from Israel to Egypt. Should 75% of shareholders vote in favor, Delek will direct the investment to East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), the owner and the operator of the Arish–Ashkelon pipeline.

Delek and Texas-based Noble Energy have been negotiating to buy the rights to use EMG’s pipeline, which used to carry gas between Egypt’s Sinai and Israel as part of a 20-year gas deal between the two countries.

The agreement came to a halt in 2012 due to regular attacks on the pipeline by Egyptian militants, and EMG is now suing the Egyptian government for damages.

Noble and Delek are partners in Israel’s large Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields, and signed a $15 billion deal in February 2018 with Egyptian firm Dolphinus Holdings to export gas to Egypt.