Photo via AFP
On Wednesday, 15 June, Egypt, the European Union (EU), and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export natural gas from Israel via Egypt to Europe. This comes as part of the EU’s efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy imports following the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The framework agreement was signed by Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar, during the ministerial meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in Cairo.
This deal will be the first to allow “significant” exports of Israeli gas to Europe, said Elharrar.
This is a historic day for the #EU’s energy engagement & #energysecurity: signing the #MoU with #Egypt🇪🇬 & #Israel 🇮🇱, two reliable, strategic partners. We will be able to count on #LNG from Israel & the Mediterranean region via the Egyptian LNG infrastructure. #REPowerEU pic.twitter.com/LcWEaAbjhm
— Kadri Simson (@KadriSimson) June 15, 2022
Established in 2020 as an international organization headquartered in Cairo, EMGF focuses on developing a sustainable regional gas market and strengthening cooperation through systematic dialogue and formulation of regional policies on natural gas. The forum comprises Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Israel.
Egypt achieved self-sufficiency of natural gas three years after discovering the Zohr gas field in 2015. As Egypt’s largest gas discovery in the Mediterranean, Zohr is an offshore natural gas field located in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea, representing 40 percent of Egypt’s total gas output.
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[…] the European Union (EU), and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export natural gas from Israel via Egypt to Europe, which falls in line with EU’s efforts to […]