Egypt, Palestine hold talks over cooperation in natural gas sector

CAIRO – 24 November 2021: Prior to the sixth ministerial meeting of East Mediterranean Gas Forum scheduled for Thursday, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek al-Mulla met Wednesday with Chairman of the Palestinian Investment Fund Mohamed Mostafa to hold talks over cooperation in the sector.

The minister had stated in October that Egypt would begin exporting gas to Lebanon through the Arab Gas Pipeline. The expected quantity is 60 to 65 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Yet, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated on November 19 that the gas pipeline is broken, and that it takes about 6 to 7 weeks to repair it. He added that the cost would be $2 million.

The Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) – extending over 1,200 kilometers - has begun operation in late 1990s with the aim of delivering Egyptian gas to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The first delivery to Lebanon took place in 2009 with 28 million cubic meters of gas daily. However, it stopped two years later because of sabotage attacks during the Syrian civil war.