Israeli Natural Gas Giant Signs $15 Billion Export Deal With Egypt

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Delek, the Israeli oil and natural gas explorations group owned by the billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, on Monday announced two deals to sell gas to the private Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings.

The Dolphinus deal is for 64 billion cubic meters over 10 years, worth about $15 billion.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the agreement, hailing it as cause for celebration and saying that the income will "benefit the education, health and welfare of Israeli citizens." He added that the deal will "strengthen our security, strengthen our economy, strengthen regional relationships, and most importantly, it will strengthen the citizens of Israel."

The gas is supposed to be supplied from the deepwater offshore gas fields Tamar and Leviathan in the Mediterranean Sea, which Delek owns together with the American energy company Noble.

Reports of the Dolphinus deal sent shares of the parent company Delek Group climbing 17% in late Monday trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Subsidiary Delek Drilling, the company actually signed onto the Egyptian agreement, was up more than 23%. Market players suggested a short squeeze also came into play: investors who had bet against the "gas shares" were reversing position, fueling the gains on the market, they suggest.

The Egyptian company, Dolphinus Holdings Limited, is a consortium of non-governmental industrial giants led by Dr. Alaa Arfa.

The gas supply should start as soon as the required pipeline infrastructure has been arranged, and will continue until the contract has been fulfilled, or by the end of 2030, whichever is  sooner, the companies explained.

Courtesy: www.haaretz.com