Egyptian Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab said that his country will soon finish drafting a new contract for natural gas exports to Israel, adding that the new contract will include a significant price increase.
Ghorab commented, "The final draft related to amending the prices for exporting natural gas to Israel will be completed soon. It will see a big increase in the price. Whoever pays more will receive preference for our gas," Egypt's Ahram news agency reported, adding that the new prices are in line with global gas prices and that they will benefit Egypt's economy.
Egypt is also seeking to alter its export prices of natural gas exports to Jordan.
Israel previously imported Egyptian natural gas through Egypt's $500 million East Mediterranean Gas Company Ltd. (EMG) pipeline, which since the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February has been subjected to repeated attacks, closing completely on 25 July.
Ghorab remarked that the Egyptian government was finalizing legislation in order to update prices for Egyptian natural gas exports to Israel to reflect current global market prices, adding that Egypt was holding direct talks with Israel negotiating new gas prices to reflect the price increases.
By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More