By Sara Toth Stub
JERUSALEM--The partners in Israel's offshore Tamar natural gas
field said Sunday that they have signed a non-binding agreement to
supply energy to private companies in Egypt. This follows a handful
of other similar, non-binding export agreements, including
supplying Israeli gas to Jordan.
The memorandum of understanding calls for the Tamar partners to
supply five billion cubic meters of natural gas on an interruptible
basis over seven years to the Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings
Ltd., which is a consortium of large non-governmental Egyptian gas
consumers and distributors led by Egyptian businessman Alaa Arafa,
according to Delek Drilling (DEDR.L.TV).
Those partners include a unit of Texas-based Noble Energy (NBL),
which holds 36%, in addition to Israeli companies Isramco Neveg 2
Ltd. Partnership, Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership, and Delek
Drilling Ltd. Partnership.
The gas will be exported to Egypt via an existing pipeline
formerly used by East Mediterranean Gas, the Tamar partners said.
EMG stopped supplying Egyptian gas to Israel via that pipeline
after several sabotage incidents in the Sinai Peninsula in the wake
of the fall of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Although Israel's natural gas reserves have yet to actually be
exported, the Tamar partners have signed other non-binding
agreements, including to sell gas to private Jordanian companies.
The increased gas production and prospect of exports have boosted
the shekel significantly since last year, and led to aggressive
market intervention by the central bank.
In September, Israeli partners in the nearby Leviathan field
signed a non-binding deal to supply 45 billion cubic meters of gas
over 15 years to Jordan's state-owned power company. The Leviathan
partners have also signed a non-binding agreement with BG Group PLC
to supply its facility in Egypt.
The Tamar field contains about 9 trillion cubic feet of gas,
most of which has been earmarked for the local market, and
production began there last year. The Leviathan field is estimated
to contain about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas, but production has
not yet started.
Write to Sara Toth Stub at realtimedesklondon@dowjones.com