Egypt: No More Natural Gas to Israel

An Egyptian court has banned the export of natural gas to Israel.

On May 8th Economy Arabia wrote:

بعد أشهر من الجدل حول صفقة الغاز الطبيعي المصري لإسرائيل، والانتقادات التي وجهت إليها، ونفي الحكومة المصرية مسؤوليتها عن الصفقة، بدأ أمس تدفق الغاز إلي إسرائيل. قالت شركة كهرباء إسرائيل إن الغاز الطبيعي المصري بدأ يتدفق إلي إسرائيل عبر خط أنابيب للمرة الأولي أمس الخميس، مؤكدة أن أكثر من ٢٠% من الكهرباء المنتجة في إسرائيل خلال العقد المقبل ستعتمد علي الغاز المصري. وأشارت إلي أنه في المرحلة الأولي سيسلم الغاز إلي محطات لتوليد الكهرباء في مدينتي تل أبيب وأشدود، وسيتيح لها زيادة إنتاجها من الكهرباء المولدة بالغاز. جاء تدفق الغاز تنفيذا لاتفاق تم توقيعه عام ٢٠٠٥ مع شركة غاز شرق المتوسط لتوريد ١.٧ مليار متر مكعب من الغاز سنويا، ولمدة ٢٠ عاما. كانت شركة غاز شرق المتوسط، التي أنشأها رجل الأعمال المصري حسين سالم، والإسرائيلي يوسف ميمان، قد قامت ببناء خط أنابيب تحت الماء لنقل الغاز المصري إلي إسرائيل
وقال حسين سالم، في اتصال هاتفي مع «المصري اليوم»، إنه باع حصته في شركة «إي. إم. چي» المصرية ـ الإسرائيلية لشركتين أمريكية وتايلاندية منذ ٨ أشهر، ولم تعد له علاقة بالشركة أو بموعد تصدير الغاز المصري حاليا. ونفي ما يتردد عن أنه باع جزءا من حصته في الشركة للبنك الأهلي، مؤكدا بيعها للشركتين الأجنبيتين، لكنه رفض كشف اسميهما.
After months of debate about, and criticism related to, the Egypt-Israel natural gas deal and after the Egyptian Government dissociated itself from any responsibility relating to that deal, yesterday -Thursday – natural gas began flowing into Israel. The Israeli power company asserted that more than 20% of its electricity for the coming decade will depend on Egyptian natural gas.
To honor the deal that was originally signed in 2005 with East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), Egypt will deliver 1.7 billion cubic metres of gas per year for the coming 20 years. The company is a joint venture between Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem and his Israeli counterpart Youssef Miman.
Hussein Salem said in a telephone conversation with Al Masry Al Youm Newspaper that he sold his shares in EMG 8 months ago to an American and a Thai company whose names were withheld. He also denied selling his shares to the national Bank of Egypt.

On November 19, 2008 an Egyptian court ruled in favour of Ibrahim Yousri, a lawyer who said that Egypt is losing $9m for each day because of that agreement.

Egyptian Chronicles wrote:

Ok this is a blow to the government , to Hussein Salem and to Israel. The judicial administrative court bans natural gas exports to Israel today. Now the Egyptian Government is obligated to listen to the court order or will they neglect it as usual?? More to come. I am very happy by the way.

And in a follow up post, she wrote:

Economically the Egyptian government made a huge mistake when it signed the agreement to export natural gas to Israel through Hussein Salem’s EMG Co.

It is unacceptable to waste your natural gas for price less than the average price now especially prices are escalating and we are entering an energy crisis era.

It is unacceptable to export your natural gas to Israel without the approval of the people represented in the Parliament.

It is unacceptable to export natural gas to Israel when the people in Gaza got no fuel.

Then she quoted the basis of the court's decision as per the judicial administrative:

The oil ministry has broken the constitution and law with its agreement in 2005 to export natural gas to Israel for 20 years. According to article no. 123 in the Egyptian constitution “ The natural resources are considered a very valuable resources to be owned by the coming generations not only for the current generations and thus the administrative authorities before the exploit of these natural resources should go to the parliament to be grant the permission”

At the end of her post she concluded that:

… the regime could not dare and go to the parliament to get an approval because it knows very well the people would refuse it totally.

As for Israel's reaction, she wrote:

The Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure expressed Israel's confidence that the political agreement between the countries’ governments will remain in force in keeping with the memorandum of understanding the two countries signed in 2005!!

 I also will quote their closing line in the same article in Haatrez :

The court's ruling is subject to appeal in a higher administrative court and the Egyptian government sometimes ignores court rulings it does not like.

4 comments

  • MoFlow

    IF Egypts Regime ignores the ruling, then Egypt is officially the dog of Israel and Sadat is the starting point of this disaster. You should read the Camp David Agreement. Egypt LOST THE WAR!

  • ella

    “It is unacceptable to waste your natural gas for price less than the average price now especially prices are escalating and we are entering an energy crisis era”
    I liked what the blogger wrote.
    November prices for oil and natural gas are hovering near their lowest for the last 12 months, and that’s with decreased production by OPEC countries.
    I think that Israel can get now cheaper prices for gas elsewhere and if Egypt will break agreement it will lose money. But, hey, its Egyptian people wish.

  • […] anti-israeli bias that does often verge on the anti-semitic (an example of which is the recent uproar about the egypt-israel gas […]

  • ahamdy

    Hey I would like you to know the importance of supplying the gas to israel, when we do so we will control the production of electricty, accordingly if the their will be a problem between egypt and israel the israel goverment should think 100% before taking any action, plus doing a levrage will lead that they hear our recommendations- Look I lost my father in 73 and i was 9 years all- We need to live in peace- yes i lost my father and he was decorated highest brave medals from sadat, and i know what war means, having ecnomical beinfets will always ensure peace- why should we fight them for the palstnians who are killing each others- do you know that the Arab-Arab conflicts (Yeamn/Yeamn- Sudan vs South Sudan, Libya, Iraq/Kuwait) leaded to lifes death more than 7 times the arab israel conflicts- do you know that- why do we lose an egyptian for a plastnian- did you look to history when the israelis live in peace they become weak- why dont we share and we benifet from them- AS for the gas prices please check again the prices Egypt now sells to Israel more than any other company exporting gas from egypt, and the israeli companies are paying exacxtly more than any european companies- Pls check this information its correct

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