Israel set to sign major gas export agreement with Egypt after months-long delay

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Eli Cohen are putting the final touches on a stalled natural gas agreement with Egypt this evening, and it is expected to be signed tonight, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel, confirming an earlier report by Channel 12.

In October, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright canceled his upcoming six-day visit to Israel after Cohen refused to sign off on the massive gas export agreement agreed upon between Jerusalem and Cairo.

In August, Israel’s Leviathan field signed a $35 billion deal to export natural gas to Egypt, the largest export agreement in Israel’s history.

But Cohen’s office said he won’t approve the deal until “fair prices are agreed upon for the Israeli market,” adding that the Trump administration applied significant pressure on Cohen and Netanyahu to approve the deal.

The gas deal has clear economic incentives for both sides, but Cohen has expressed concern that such exports could deplete Israel’s natural gas reserves and harm domestic energy security.

The gas deal in its original form was expected to funnel hundreds of millions of shekels in gas royalty revenues and taxes into the country’s state coffers.

According to a report in the Axios news site, the White House is looking to broker a summit between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, hoping to push the two countries together through shared economic interests. In order to entice Sissi to attend such a meeting, Israel will need to make a range of concessions to Egypt, including signing a strategic gas deal between the countries, the report said.

“This is a huge opportunity for Israel. Selling gas to Egypt will create interdependence, get the countries closer together, create a warmer peace, and prevent war,” a US official told the news site.