The European Union has signed a deal with Egypt and Israel to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, as part of its plans to slash reliance on Russian gas pipeline deliveries.
According to a statement by the EU Commission, the partners signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding in Kairo on Wednesday.
“In light of the new geopolitical and energy market reality after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in line with the REPowerEU plan, the EU and Egypt will accelerate and intensify their energy partnership,” the statement said.
Under the deal, the three parties would work together on the “stable delivery of natural gas, in a way that is consistent with long-term decarbonization objectives and based on market-oriented pricing,” it said.
Also, Europe would receive natural gas from Israel, Egypt and other sources in the Eastern Mediterranean region via Egypt’s LNG export infrastructure, the statement said.
Besides LNG supplies, the parties would also promote the reduction of methane leakage, and in particular examine new technologies for reducing venting and flaring and explore possibilities for the utilization of captured methane throughout the entire supply chain.
The statement did not provide additional information regarding the LNG supplies such as volumes or the facilities.
In April, Italy’s Eni signed a deal with EGAS to increase Egyptian LNG exports to Europe, and specifically to Italy.
The two firms are partners in the 5 mtpa Damietta liquefaction plant in Egypt. The facility started exporting LNG again in February last year following a deal between Egypt’s EGPC and EGAS, Eni, and Naturgy.
Besides the Damietta LNG facility, Egypt also has the Shell-operated Egyptian LNG facilities, located at Idku.
Other partners in the 7.2 mtpa Idku facility include TotalEnergies, Petronas, EGAS, and EGPC.