President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi says Egypt has “scored a goal” with the new $15 billion natural gas deal signed between Israel’s Delek Drilling and Noble Energy, and Egypt’s Dolphinus Holding earlier this week.
El-Sisi enthused about the agreement in a speech delivered at the opening of an investment center, saying it was something he’s been “dreaming about for the past four years,” Globes reported Wednesday.
The Israeli consortium will sell the Egyptian company a total of 64 billion cubic meters of natural gas over a 10-year period, beginning next year. El-Sisi said the agreement furthers his vision of transforming Egypt into a regional energy hub.
“All of the gas from our region will come to us,” El-Sisi said, “or we will use it for our consumption, or we will export it ourselves.”
That latter remark was a reference to Egypt’s own gas liquifaction facilities which can convert the natural gas into LPG (liquid petroleum gas) for export.
The gas, which is expected to begin flowing from Israel’s Leviathan field to Egypt at the end of next year, will also begin to flow from the Tamar field slightly later.