Israel's Energy Ministry says Israel is considering extending a new overland pipeline to Egypt to rapidly increase its natural gas exports to it;
And that in the wake of the decrease in the supply of gas at the global level.
The pipeline will connect the Egyptian and Israeli natural gas networks through the northern Sinai Peninsula.
And gas industry sources familiar with the ongoing discussions said that estimates indicate that the pipeline will cost about $200 million, and it may be ready for operation within 24 months.
The new land line, and combined with plans to extend a second subsea pipeline to Egypt, would cement Israel's position as a major energy hub in the
eastern Mediterranean;
Which turned diplomatic relations upside down with countries in recent years.
Israel became a major supplier of natural gas to energy-hungry Egypt in January 2020, after starting production from the offshore Tamar and Leviathan gas fields.
About 5 billion cubic meters of gas is supplied annually through a subsea pipeline linking Israel to the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
The Ministry of Energy said - in a statement to Reuters - that "Israel and Egypt are in talks about the possibility of cooperation in the supply of natural gas. One of the options being studied - in the wake of a request from Egypt to increase supplies of natural gas - is to build an onshore pipeline."
She added that the pipeline will be owned by the Israeli Natural Gas Lines Company, and work is underway to obtain approvals for its route from the local authorities.
The sources said that the new pipeline will allow to increase supplies to Egypt by between 3 and 5 billion cubic meters annually.
These supplies will be used to feed the Egyptian electricity grid and increase exports of liquefied natural gas from Egypt to Europe and Asia.
Yossi Abu, CEO of DELEK Drilling Company, told Reuters, "There is no doubt that Egypt has all the characteristics and conditions to become a global center, which will require additional quantities of gas from Israel, Cyprus and the surrounding areas to be a focus for the gas trade on regional and global levels.
At the beginning of this year 2021, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tariq El-Molla agreed with then-Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz - during a meeting between them in Tel Aviv - to work on a government agreement to link the Israeli "Leviathan" gas field - located in the Mediterranean Sea north of Haifa - with natural gas liquefaction units. In Egypt via the offshore pipeline.