Egypt could re-export Israeli gas to EU “in months” -Steinitz: Egypt could start to re-export shipments of Israeli gas to Europe “in a few months,” Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters. Egypt yesterday began receiving the first shipments of Israeli gas under the landmark USD 15 bn gas agreement signed in 2018. Asked if the gas was going through the Idku LNG plant for re-export to Europe, he said: “Not today, but they think it might take place in a few months’ time.”

We now have a better idea of how much gas we’re importing: Two Egyptian sources cited by Reuters said that Egypt is initially importing 200 mcf/d of gas, while Israeli gas firm Delek Drilling said 2.1 bcm of gas will be shipped each year from the Leviathan field alone, rising to 4.7 bcm by 2H2022. Sources previously said that between 1.5-3 bcm a year will initially be shipped, gradually increasing to 4-5 bcm in 2021 and 7 bcm in 2022. Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings agreed to buy 85 bcm over a 15-year term under the revised USD 19.5 bn agreement in October last year.

Everyone is showering praise on the agreement: In a letter to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that the gas partnership was “linking our two countries and our two peoples,” calling yesterday a “day to celebrate.” Meanwhile, Delek CEO Yossi Abu said that the arrangement “marks a new era in the Middle East energy sector.”

Gas exports to Asia in the making: Egypt and Israel have discussed the potential of building a pipeline from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea then link that to Asia, Steinitz said, noting that the Indian demand for gas is growing rapidly as it looks to phase out coal. It emerged last year that the two countries are considering building a new LNG export facility on the Red Sea coast, enabling Israeli and Egyptian gas to be exported to Asia.

Turkey-Libya maritime agreement not a problem: Steinitz dismissed concerns over the maritime agreement struck between Turkey and Libya’s Government of National Accord last year, which Egypt has also been critical of. “Nobody can block… or own the Mediterranean,” Steinitz said.

In other gas-related news: Eni is set to connect its last deepwater well in the Zohr gas field to the national grid next week, reports the local press. The move would bring the field’s total production capacity to 3.2 bcf/d of gas.