ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday evening the approval of a major natural gas agreement with Egypt worth 112 billion shekels (approximately $35 billion).

“The deal is worth 112 billion shekels, the largest gas deal in Israel's history,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement alongside Energy Minister Eli Cohen, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“The deal with American company Chevron was approved after I secured our vital security interests,” he added, without providing further details.

“First and foremost, the deal requires companies to sell gas at a good price to Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu said.

There was no official confirmation or statement from Egyptian authorities regarding the deal.

In September, the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Netanyahu had instructed that the massive gas agreement with Egypt not move forward without his approval, against the backdrop of Tel Aviv’s allegations that Cairo had “violated the peace treaty” signed between the two countries through military deployments in Sinai—claims that Egypt denied.

On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington following the 1978 Camp David Accords. Its key provisions included ending the state of war, normalizing relations, the full withdrawal of Israeli military forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, and keeping the area demilitarized.

Reports about the deal emerged on Aug. 7, when the newspaper Maariv revealed that NewMed Energy had signed a new agreement to export gas to Egypt from the Leviathan field, expanding the existing agreement in place since 2019 (60 billion cubic meters).

Israeli media earlier reported that Egypt might turn to Qatar to cover gas supplies in case of Israel’s failure to approve the deal.

Following these reports, Israeli media reports spoke of a shift in Netanyahu’s position, noting that he had given the green light to complete the gas deal with Egypt.

Under the agreement, partners will sell 130 billion cubic meters of gas to Egypt through 2040 in exchange for about $35 billion.

Operating rights in the Leviathan field are divided between Noble Energy (39.66%), which was acquired by US energy giant Chevron in October 2020; NewMed Energy Partnership (45.33%); and Ratio Oil Exploration (15%).

The Egyptian energy company BOE (Blue Ocean Energy) is the buyer, according to Israel Hayom.

This deal adds to a series of Israeli natural gas supplies to Egypt over the past five years.