Under the agreement, natural gas from Israel's Leviathan reservoir will be sold to Egypt in two phases. The first is expected to begin in the first half of 2026, while the second will commence after the planned expansion of the Leviathan field is completed. The deal is a key step in boosting output from Leviathan, enabling a significant increase in available gas for Israel's domestic market and enhancing Israel's long-term energy security.

Following the announcement, shares of Delek Group and NewMed Energy rose by approximately 4% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

"NewMed Energy is once again reshaping the rules of the regional energy game," said NewMed CEO Yossi Abu. "Leviathan is a tool for strategic transformation, and I believe this deal will pave the way for additional agreements with more countries in the region."

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Andrea Stegher, the incoming president of the International Gas Union, estimates that Israel will be able to supply up to 10% of Europe's gas consumption within several years.

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Stegher visited Israel for the National Energy Conference of the Israel Energy and Environment Institute, which was held this week. In an interview with Israel Hayom he emphasized that Israel must develop its energy market in order to meet this goal.

Q: Has the world overcome the energy crisis created by the war in Ukraine?

"No. But we are working on ways to overcome the crisis, and every particle is important. The Middle East, and Israel in particular, will be able to play an important role in contributing to solving this crisis. There is already an extensive field for exporting gas from Israel to Europe, while also ensuring the needs of the local economy."

Q: It seems that the world is divided into East and West also regarding the energy market: India, China, and other countries in Asia continue to purchase resources from Russia, while the West is boycotting it.

"To be honest, Europe has not boycotted Russia's gas and, in fact, has been buying more gas from it in recent months. As a member of the International Gas Union, I hope that the problem in Ukraine will be resolved. At the same time, we have to ensure that there are more gas resources available for countries like China, Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh, because if no gas is available for them – they will start mining coal, and this is bad for the environment."

Q: Israel is a small and new country, as far as the energy and gas sector is concerned. To what extent will Israel be able to export to Europe's gas market, in 10-15 years from now?

"Being a small country does not prevent one from contributing. Especially in regard to Europe, Israel is in a good position to solve the problems we are facing. During my visit here, I saw good moves that are already being taken. We need to disconnect from 100 billion cubic meters of Russian gas. I believe that we should be striving for 5-10% in the coming few years. For this to happen, we must develop the existing gas resources, but also promote additional investments. And, of course, there is a significant change in Europe – from immediate supply requirements to long-term needs."

Q: In your opinion, what is the best way to export gas?

"I can say that we see the LNG (a process of liquefying gas and transporting it in tankers) as the most efficient way. But it is most important that we hurry up and invest in it and that the companies choose the right one."

Q: What about a pipeline from Israel to Europe, like the East Med that is being talked about – is this realistic?

"This will be the first of its kind in terms of infrastructure. Technically it can be done, but there are other elements that are needed in order to make it have economic sense. From Israel's point of view, the development of resources and infrastructure is the most important."

At Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's meeting with his Italian counterpart this week, they agreed that the countries will promote energy cooperation in the Mediterranean, following the crisis in Europe.

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Israel will supply natural gas to Lebanon in a US-brokered deal intended to minimize Iranian hold over the impoverished and crisis-stricken country, Hebrew-language Channel 12 News reported on Saturday.

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Lebanon, which officially regards Israel as an enemy state, reached an agreement last year on bringing Jordanian electricity and Egyptian gas into the country via war-torn Syria, while the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah is delivering fuel from its Iranian paymasters.

However, the country is still grappling with round-the-clock power cuts that last at least 20 hours a day due to a crippling financial crisis that has hampered key imports, including fuel for power stations.

According to Channel 12 News, the agreement was orchestrated by Special US Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein, and was signed in the past few days.

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Israel has saved 180 billion shekels ($57 billion) since 2013 thanks to the switch to natural gas, according to a report presented at the Knesset this week by the Energy Ministry.

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Data shows that NIS 51 billion ($16 billion) was saved due to the reduction in the cost of energy production for electricity and industry, and NIS 130 billion ($41 billion) due to the decrease in air pollution following a reduction in coal and fuel oil use.

By 2025, coal-run power plants will fully transition to natural gas, the report said. Between 2019 and 2020, the total supply of natural gas to the economy spiked by 43%. Export of natural gas went from non-existent in 2016 to 4.25 billion cubic meters last year.

The Energy Ministry estimates that by 2045, natural gas consumption by the electricity sector will increase by 150%, and as such, it will continue to serve as a major energy source alongside solar energy and wind power.

Currently, four hospitals and eight Israel Defense Forces camps are connected to the natural gas networks, with many more expected to join in the coming years.

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Delek Drilling has finalized a deal to sell its 22% stake in the east Mediterranean Tamar gas field to Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum for about $1 billion, the Israeli company said on Thursday.

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Delek said it is the biggest commercial deal to be signed between Israeli and Emirati groups since Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized ties last year. A preliminary agreement was reached in April but it required government approval.

The Tamar field is one of Israel's primary energy sources and can produce 11 billion cubic meters of gas a year – enough to cover much of the Israeli market as well as exports to Egypt and Jordan.

Delek Drilling, a unit of conglomerate Delek Group, holds a 22% stake in the field, which is operated by Chevron.

Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Investment Company, said the acquisition "will complement Mubadala Petroleum's gas-based portfolio strategy in line with its energy transition goals".

Delek also holds a significant stake in the even larger Leviathan gas field nearby and is selling its Tamar holdings to comply with government moves to open the market to more competition.

"A huge deal with a company from the United Arab Emirates, alongside exporting gas to Eygpt and Jordan, are actions on the ground and exactly how to build a new Middle East," said Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu.

‏"This transaction marks a milestone in the alignment between Israel and the UAE following the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement signed between the two countries in 2020," said Abu.

‏"On completion, the deal will represent one of the largest transactions between an Israeli entity and an Arab entity, which shows how Israel's natural gas resources can be a source of collaboration between nations. This is yet another pivotal brick to the wall of friendship and collaboration Delek Drilling has been building in the region.

"Our focus right now in Delek Drilling is on the expansion of our mega Leviathan reservoir and on creating new markets in the region and beyond for our produced natural gas," he added.

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Lebanese President Michel Aoun is willing to resume indirect negotiations with Israel on the two nations' maritime border, "in accordance with international laws," Aoun informed US mediator John Desrocher on Monday.

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"The US should pressure Israel to show up to continue negotiations, without preconditions," Aoun said. The last round of talks on an Israeli-Lebanese maritime border did not resume after the last round, which took place in early May, due to Lebanon's stance.

According to Aoun, Israel cannot "force its unilateral positions in the negotiations."

Aoun told Desrocher that "given the new government in Israel, I hope that your talks with Israeli officials will lead to positive results."

The negotiations have been at an effective impasse since April of this year, due to a decision by Beirut, under influence from the country's military to add 1,340 km (833 miles) to the maritime area under dispute with Israel.

Lebanon is hoping that an agreement on a maritime border with Israel will allow it to discover natural gas reserves in its own territorial waters. Natural gas would be a great boon to the country's economy, which is on the verge of total collapse.

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Israel's efforts to shift to natural gas have saved its economy 78.6 billion shekels ($24 billion) since 2004, a report published by the Energy Ministry on Monday shows.

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According to data, in 2020 alone the total consumption of natural gas (including export) increased by a whopping 24%.

The report attributed the boost to the increased amount of natural gas that Israel exports to its neighboring countries from the Leviathan offshore gas field that began commercial production of gas at the beginning of 2020.

In 2012, most of Israel's electrical power was generated from coal, and some from diesel fuel and fuel oil, but by 2020, electrical power generated from natural gas was twice the amount from coal. The use of diesel fuel and fuel oil to power the electric grid became almost obsolete by 2020, the report said.

The Natural Gas Authority said that the drastic drop in gas prices due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse effect on the industry. It also said the overall positive impact of natural gas on the economy was even greater because of the environmental benefits.

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Qatar has pledged $60 million to help construct a natural gas pipeline running from Israel into the Gaza Strip, the Qatari government said Thursday. The project aims to ease Gaza's long-term energy crisis.

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Natural gas currently flowing through a pipeline in Israel from the eastern Mediterranean will be transported via a new extension into Gaza, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced on its website. 

The eastern Mediterranean has become one of the world's major offshore drilling zones, with lucrative deepwater gas fields recently discovered in Israel's territorial waters.

The European Union also has pledged over $24 million to fund the pipeline on the Gaza side of the border, the ministry added.

The statement did not give a date for the pipeline's completion, but the official confirmation of funding after weeks of anticipation signals a diplomatic breakthrough between the many parties to the project: Europeans, Israelis, Palestinians and Qataris.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh praised Qatari and European support, saying the project would "solve the electricity problem absolutely," according to the Qatari statement.

Qatar has become a major donor to the Palestinians, providing $20 million to Gaza each month since 2018. The money has helped Hamas cover the salaries of its civil servants and provided monthly $100 million stipends to scores of impoverished families. Qatar has provided additional funds for development hospitals like roads and hospitals.

Qatari aid, delivered with Israeli consent, has provided some relief to the local economy and is seen as a factor in preventing simmering tensions between Israel and Hamas from boiling over into renewed conflict.

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An explosion at a key natural gas pipeline in Egypt's restive northern Sinai Peninsula caused a fire but no human casualties late Thursday, a senior Egyptian official said.

North Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha said the explosion took place in el-Arish, the provincial capital. However, other security officials and eyewitnesses said terrorists planted explosives on the pipeline before fleeing the scene.

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No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.

A similar explosion hit a gas pipeline in northern Sinai last month and was claimed by the Islamic State group affiliate.

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Members of the International Energy Agency unanimously voted in favor of accepting Israel's request to join the organization, Thursday.

The process to have Israel join the independent agency began in December when Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol at the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid in December 2019. Later on, the Foreign Ministry and Israel's mission to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development enlisted in efforts to have Israel join the Paris-based group.

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"In 2010, as finance minister, I brought the State of Israel in the most prestigious organization of developed nations – the OECD – and now, in 2020, I am proud to announce that Israel is taking another significant step on the path to becoming a fully-fledged member of the International Energy Agency. This reflects Israel's new status as a regional energy power, as a world leader in rapidly reducing and weaning ourselves off coal and fossil fuels in favor of natural gas and solar energy, to make it the world's second greatest producer of solar power. This [decision to accept Israel as a member of the IEA] is an expression of the world's faith in and recognition of the strength and innovation of the Israeli energy market."

Founded in 1974 to meet industrialized nations' energy needs following the 1973 oil crisis, the IEA is a leader in international energy discourse.

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