The partners in the Israeli Tamar gas field report this morning that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings for the export of up to 2.5 BCM of surplus natural gas from Israel to private Egyptian industrial customers, over a period of seven years. The supply of gas will be on an interruptible basis, and will be of gas that the Tamar partners have available after meeting the needs of Israeli customers, but the partners undertake to supply a minimum of five BCM over three years. The gas will be transported via theIsrael Natural Gas Lines system to Ashkelon, and from there to Egypt via the EMG (East Mediterranean Gas) pipeline.
Since the gas supply is interruptible, Dolphinus's Egyptian customers will not commit to buying a minimum quantity. The price set in the MOU is similar to that in other agreements for exporting gas from Israel, and is mainly based on a formula that includes linkage to the price of a barrel of Brent crude and a "floor price". The Tamar partners say that to the best of their knowledge, Dolphius represents a consortium of large non-government industrial and commercial gas consumers in Egypt, gas distributors and ventures of Dr. Alaa Arafa. The current agreement is for the export of a fairly small quantity of gas, but it follows on the contract with the Palestinian Authority and MOUs for the sale of Israeli gas to the liquefaction plants of Union Fenosa and British Gas in Egypt, and an MOU with the Jordanian National Electric Power Company.
Delek Driling chairman and Avner CEO Gideon Tadmor said, "The Tamar and Leviathan partnerships have so far signed a series of agreements designed to enable the supply of natural gas to the Palestinian Authority, to Jordan, and for export as liquid natural gas via the existing installations in Egypt. The MOU with Dolphinus is a further, important link in the series of agreements, allowing the supply of gas to the Egyptian domestic market as well. I have no doubt that these agreements will lead to a strengthening of Israel's relations with its neighbors."
The partners in the Tamar field are Noble Energy (36%), Isramco (28.75%), Avner (15.625%), Delek Drilling (15.625%) and Dor Gas (4%).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 19, 2014
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