The gas deal with Tel Aviv .. Does Egypt really need?

Observers questioned Egypt's need for a deal worth $ 15 billion announced in February, under which Egypt will supply natural gas to Egypt through a private company in the next decade, as the country is about to achieve self-sufficiency of energy.

Middle East said the deal signed by Israeli company Delek Drilling and Noble Energy in the Tamar and Levantine gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt's Dolphin Holdings was not justified.

The three companies also announced in March 2015 a similar agreement, at a time when Egyptian families and factories were suffering from power outages due to lack of gas supplies, but the agreement did not go as planned, as the market shifted to the Eastern Mediterranean region rich in gas, In a manner that was not expected by the Israeli gas traders, Egypt has become a semi-satisfied country now needs for natural gas.

According to some energy experts, it will not be long until Egypt also finds more gas (European)

The dream of Israel
Observers believe that there is an urgent need for Tel Aviv to market its gas. The longer the Israeli gas stays without a buyer, the more gas it will discover in the Mediterranean, and it is likely to postpone Israel 's dream of ensuring regional sales for an indefinite period.

The Israeli authorities do not publicly state this. Government reports focus instead on arguments that are in the interest of Israeli national security.

The latest deal will allow Israeli companies Delek and Noble and other small partners to continue their investments in Israel's largest gas field, Levathan, but has yet to produce any gas since it was discovered in 2010.

Companies have already invested $ 3.75 billion in the first phase of development of the field, which is described as "the largest energy project in Israel's history," and observers expect to begin production officially next year.

In contrast to the Israeli point of view, Cairo's logic is less clear. Once Egypt can secure its gas needs - which is likely to happen by 2019 - Israeli gas is expected to cost more than Egyptian gas. Additional costs for importing.

The Israeli gas is likely to be re-exported from two liquefaction plants located in the Egyptian towns of Idco and Damietta, the only two such plants in the eastern Mediterranean.

"Scored a goal"
This was apparently the vision of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who announced when the deal was first announced that Egypt "scored a goal ... we have become a regional center of energy, all the gas coming from all over the region will come to us."

But there is also widespread belief among energy experts that it will not be long before Egypt also finds more gas and will therefore want to use the limited capacity of its LNG plants to export their own products.

Given that the commercial basis of the current deal is not known, it is unclear what would benefit Egypt more: exporting its own gas or re-exporting Israeli gas?

Egyptian analysts have expressed their rejection of the deal, where political analyst Khaled Fouad, who currently works for the Egyptian Institute of Studies in Istanbul, said that "the deal does not serve Egypt and its national security in any way. "He said.

Foad is likely to be "private" although politicians on both sides refer to it as a deal between two governments.

"We need the same thing in Egypt," Fouad said. "We have many sectors that need to be developed, but we are giving Israel a gift for gains. Simple ".