Israeli energy firms want to invest in the Egypt’s renewables sector: Israeli gas producer Delek Drilling NewMed Energy is lining up a joint venture with Tel Aviv-listed Enlight Renewable Energy to invest in renewables projects across the MENA region, the two companies said in separate disclosures to the Israeli stock exchange yesterday (NewMed, pdf | Enlight, pdf).

They plan to:

#1- Target Egypt + the wider region: The companies will pursue projects in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, the companies said.

#2- Invest in several types of renewables projects: The JV will target projects in solar, wind, energy storage and other renewables segments.

#3- And participate at every stage of a project’s life cycle, including initiation, development, financing, construction and operation.

But they won’t do it alone: The firms will work with local contractors to help them develop projects.

What they said: “The venture will exploit what we see as a very large opportunity in the region that began with natural gas, a development led to a large extent by NewMed,” Bloomberg reported Enlight CEO Gilad Yavetz as saying in a conference call.

NewMed is no newcomer to Egypt: NewMed — rebranded from Delek Drilling earlier this year — has been a key player in Egypt’s plans to become a natural gas hub for the Mediterranean region. These plans have recently seen us partner with Israel to up gas exports to Europe. Alongside Chevron, the company operates Israel’s two biggest offshore gas fields, Tamar and Leviathan, from which natgas is pumped our way for liquefaction and re-export to the EU. NewMed and Chevron are also developing Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field, which is also set to be linked via a new pipeline to LNG facilities on Egypt’s north coast for re-export.

What’s next: NewMed will put the plan to its shareholders in an upcoming general assembly meeting, it said.