Why can’t Israel just cast its gas lot with Egypt like everyone else? Israel appears to still be trying to get a EUR 6 bn natural gas pipeline to sell natural gas from its Leviathan field to Europe. The pipeline would connect its fields to Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Israel is trying to finalize working agreements with European governments interested in buying natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean region by the end of the year, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz tells Bloomberg in an interview. “We are speaking very seriously about the cross-Mediterranean pipeline,” he said. The move could be a desperate attempt by Israel shift the focus of East Med gas sales to Europe through this pipeline that analysts — from the Financial Times to more recently Oil Price — have previously said would cost more and is mired in political issues when compared to using Egypt as an export hub. For one thing, the pipeline wouldn’t be completed before at least 2025. Not to mention ongoing disputes between Israel, Cyprus and Lebanon on the maritime borders of their respective fields.

Egypt’s agreements have turned Israel a little green: The statement comes less than a week after Egypt and the EU signed a MoU on energy cooperation that is widely expected to pave the way for Egypt to become a gas export hub to Europe. The agreement would see the EU provide as much as EUR 3.8 bn under 2018-2022 energy cooperation agreement. Operators of Leviathan Noble and Delek themselves see the benefits of expedient use of Egypt’s infrastructure, having signed a USD 15 bn agreement to export gas to Egypt through Alaa Arafa’s Dolphinus Holdings. Shell is also reportedly in talks to buy gas from the Israel and Cyprus’ to process at its Egypt Idku LNG facility in a USD 25 bn agreement.