Egypt-Israel Flows At Risk

[DogPoundPup]

Legal and political pressures are mounting in Egypt to halt gas exports to Israel as the Israeli offensive in Gaza continues. Last week, an Egyptian court upheld a November ruling calling for an end to gas flows to Israel, but Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy indicated that this latest ruling was not definitive. The government intends to appeal the decision for a second time in early February and has said that a final verdict would be respected.

The court said in November that parliamentary approval of the export deal, never obtained, was needed (WGI Nov.26,p5). Egypt sends 1.7 billion cubic meters per year (164 million cubic feet per day) of gas to Israel under a 2005 contract to supply state Israel Electric Corp. (IEC).

Both Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures (MNI) and sources with the East Mediterranean Group, an Egyptian-Israeli consortium that inked the sales deal with IEC, tell WGI that gas is still flowing through the pipeline. An MNI spokesman said the ministry remains in regular communication with its Egyptian counterpart; the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding providing political backing for the export deal in July 2005.

Israel's war in Gaza, launched on Dec. 27, however has provided new impetus to anti-export campaigners in Egypt. Street demonstrations in Egypt condemning Israel's actions in Gaza have included demands for an immediate halt to exports to Israel. The subject has also been fiercely debated in Egypt's parliament, with one MP -- a member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood -- calling the exports illegal.

more ... http://www.energyintel.com/documentdetail.asp?document_id=248986

[oberliner]

1. We shall see how this impacts that relationship

The Israel-Egypt "cold peace" seems always just one small spark away from melting.