Israeli firm to provide Egypt with natural gas

The Israeli owner of the Tamar offshore gas field has signed a deal with the Egyptian firm, Delphinus Holdings, to annually export more than 2.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Egypt over a seven-year period.
 
The newly-inked deal is turning the tables on gas supplies in the region as it was Cairo which used to provide Tel Aviv with gas in the near past.
 
Egypt has been grappling with a growing energy crisis over the past years, causing anger among the Egyptians who have blamed successive governments for failing to solve the problem. However, despite the paralyzing energy crisis, most Egyptians denounce the idea of trade with Israel as unacceptable and highly controversial.
 
    "It is a shame that Egypt now is importing gas from Israel," political commentator Abdullah al-Ashaal said, adding that choosing Israel as the only source of gas supplies "makes a big question mark on the behavior of the Egyptian government."
 
The new agreement comes despite the fact that Israel was dependent for years on Egypt for covering around 40 percent of its needed gas.
 
In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel and was also compelled to agree to supply gas to Israel as one of the main economic conditions of the US-sponsored accord.
 
However, Cairo annulled the agreement in 2012, saying Tel Aviv had failed to meet its financial obligations.