Egypt claims price difference from Israel

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elarabi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173030.html

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi says the Camp David Accord includes no articles which would oblige his country to sell cheap oil and gas to Israel.

He told an Egyptian TV network that anyone who interprets the accord as such is truly mistaken.

Therefore, the top Egyptian diplomat said, Cairo is to claim the difference of the price charged for the natural gas exported to Israel and the real market rate.

He said former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was Israel's “strategic treasure,” meaning this would not be the case from now on.

Al-arabi also underlined that Iran should not be regarded as a hostile country.

Egypt resumes gas exports to Israel amid public dispute

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170493.html

Egypt resumed exporting natural gas to Israel after a one-month hiatus due to an explosion, which damaged the pipeline delivering gas to Israel, Jordan and Syria.

For Egyptians the issue of supplying Israel with gas has always been a contentious one.

Ibrahim Yousri a former judge leads a popular campaign against gas exports to Israel and has already won a court case for the terms of the Israeli gas deal.

On Wednesday, Israeli firms confirmed that supplies had resumed but that initial quantities were below normal level. The resumption of gas deliveries was delayed repeatedly due to leaks.

Later, there were conflicting reports about gas deliveries to Israel and according to North Sinai (Syenai) governor, the damaged pipeline had not been fully repaired.

Israel gets around 40% of its gas supply from Egypt at a considerably low price. As such, there is widespread oppossition to the $2.5-billion export deal with Israel, which was signed in 2005.

Most experts think the terms of the deal need to be revised.

Following suggestions by Egyptian officials that the contract may be renegotiated or scrapped altogether, Israel is reportedly considering contingency plans to avoid energy shortfalls.

Despite 1979 peace treaty, most Egyptians view Israel as an enemy and oppose doing any kind of business with it.

'Egypt gas flow to Israel not to resume'

Huge flames erupt from an explosion at Egyptian gas pipeline supplying Israel and Jordan in El Arish, Egypt, February 05, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170063.html

The Egyptian gas supply to Israel that has been disrupted since a February 5 pipeline explosion does not seem to be restored at its full capacity any soon.

Egypt's East Mediterranean Gas Company has informed Tel Aviv authorities of a leak in one of its pipes in the El Arish area.

The news of further delay comes as the resumption of the vital gas supplies to Israel was expected to happen on Monday.

The flow of Egyptian natural gas to Israel was halted five weeks ago after an explosion in the Sinai pipeline at the peak of popular protests against ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime -- which was seen as Tel Aviv's closest Mideast ally.

Meanwhile, experts speculate that once the gas supply is resumed, Israel will not receive more than one-quarter of the quantity supplied before the pipeline explosion.

Israeli authorities have estimated the damage caused to Tel Aviv's economy by the absence of Egyptian gas at $1.7 million a day.

Egypt has been supplying 40 percent of Israel's natural gas, used to produce 20 percent of Israel's electricity, since May 2008.

The Egyptian opposition is openly against the gas deal signed between Cairo and Tel Aviv under Mubarak in 2005.

The developments come as Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his former petroleum minister are being investigated for selling artificially cheap gas to Israel.

This comes after chief prosecutor received evidence that Mubarak and Sameh Fahmy had sold natural gas to Israel and several Western countries for artificially low prices.

Fahmy has recently told investigators that he was just carrying out orders from Mubarak.

Chief prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmud has estimated that the deals with Israel incurred as much as $500 million in losses, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported in early March.

Egypt gas pipeline attacked

Unknown attackers blow up North Sinai pipeline that supplies gas to Jordan

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112572657906674.html

Unknown attackers have blown up a pipeline that runs through El-Arish area of Egypt's north Sinai area and supplies gas to Jordan and Israel, according to Egypt's state television.

The Jordanian route that runs from El- Arish to Aqaba and then up to Amman has been damaged by Saturday's explosion.

But it has been reported that the gas pipeline running to Ashkelon in Israel has not been affected.

The explosive material was placed inside or adjacent to the control station of the gas supply line. There were no immediate reports of any casualties as a result of the blast.

"Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline," a state television correspondent reported, saying there was a big explosion.

State TV quoted an official as saying that the "situation is very dangerous and explosions were continuing from one spot to another" along the pipeline.

"It is a big terrorist operation", a state TV reporter said.

Residents in the area also reported a huge explosion and said flames were raging in the area.

According to a security source, the Egyptian army closed the main source of the gas supply to the pipeline.

"The armed forces and the authorities managed to close the main the source of flow and are trying to control the fires," the source said.

Governor of Sinai has confirmed to Al Jazeera that the fire that resulted from the explosion of the gas supply line has been controlled and that the infrastructiure at the gas terminal has not been severely damaged.

Al Jazeera's corrspondent reported from Egypt that, "We do not know yet who was behind the explosion as no group has claimed responsibility."

According to Al Jazeera's sources, eye witnesses are being interviewed by authorities and the investigation is focusing on some bedouin tribes of Northern Sinai.

Bedouin tribesmen of the Sinai Peninsula attempted to blow up the pipeline last July as tensions intensified between them and the Egyptian government, which they accuse of discrimination and of ignoring their plight.

"They do not enjoy the wealth that the state generates from the Sinai peninsula, the money has not benefitted the communities there," our correspondent added.

Anti-government protests in Egypt have now entered their 12th day and despite the protesters' demands that President Hosni Mubarak must leave office immediately, he says that if he does indeed step down then the country will descend into chaos, increasing security concerns.

"The issue of security is often used in Egyptian politics but many Egyptians say that the tensions inside Egypt have been because of the government itself.

"Bedouins, arms trade and drug trafficking are some of the internal issues that the central government in Cairo has failed to deal with," our correspondent said.

The gas supplies from Egypt account for 40 per cent of Israel's gas imports.

And although the gas supply route to Israel has not been affected by this explosion, yet Israeli authorities remain concerned as the events have been unfolding in Egypt over the last few days.

Al Jazeera's correspondent, Tony Birtley reported from Jerusalem that "Israelis have been very jittery for the last 10 days, if a government comes into power in Egypt that is not sympathetic to Israel then it will present security issues for Israel.

"Israel is realising that their good friend (Mubarak) is on his way out, and they are not sure who is on the way in."

Our correspondent, Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reported from Amman that the Jordanian ministry of energy officials are in touch with the Egyptian government to find out whether pipelines carrying gas to Jordan have been affected.

The ministry will not release any details until an official response is received from Egypt.

A former official in the dismissed Jordanian government told Al Jazeera that "This is what we were afraid of (with regards to unrest in Egypt affecting Jordan).

"Gas prices will now go up, after Jordanian government announced its commitment to bear the brunt of any increases in fuel derivatives till March to reduce economic hardships following massive protests here," the former official said