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Friday, October 31, 2025
US energy secretary cancels visit over Israeli counterpart’s refusal to approve Egypt gas deal
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright cancels his upcoming six-day visit to Israel after Energy Minister Eli Cohen refuses to sign off on a massive gas export agreement recently agreed upon between Jerusalem and Cairo, Cohen’s office says.
In August, Israel’s Leviathan field signed a $35 billion to export natural gas to Egypt, the largest export agreement in Israel’s history.
But Cohen’s office says 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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve the deal.
The US energy giant Chevron, which operates the gas field, also has been pressing Israel to ratify the deal, reports Israel Hayom.
Cohen “demanded that the prices for the Israeli market will remain attractive,” according to his office. “Since the negotiations have yet to be completed, Cohen refused to approve the export until the issue is solved.”
It is exceedingly rare for a minister to publicize his role in shaking up Israel’s relationship with any US administration. The statement from Cohen’s office was especially notable in creating friction with US President Donald Trump’s White House while US officials are working with Israel to advance Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
The gas deal in its current form is expected to funnel hundreds of millions of shekels in revenues from gas royalties and taxes to the country’s state coffers.
The deal was announced as growing domestic energy needs have sparked heated discussions over natural gas exports. Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry warned that Israel is poised to face a natural gas shortage in the next 25 years as domestic energy needs are growing faster than forecast and gas export sales are robust. A shortfall would lead to higher electricity prices for consumers.
Natural gas from Leviathan, one of the world’s largest deep-water gas discoveries, started to flow to the Israeli domestic market in December 2019. The partners in the Leviathan reservoir began exporting natural gas to Egypt in January 2020 after signing a deal for 60 billion cubic meters, which is expected to be supplied by the early 2030s. To date, Leviathan has supplied 23.5 billion cubic meters of gas to the Egyptian market.
“At the same time, efforts are underway to sort out the diplomatic aspects between Israel and Egypt,” says Cohen’s office.
The Times of Israel Community.