Israel to Sell Gas to Egypt, Jordan and Plans to Go to EU Market - Energy Min.

Israel plans to construct an underwater gas pipeline, which will connect the Leviathan and Aphrodite offshore gas fields with Greece, Italy, and Turkey. The project has already received preliminary approval from the Ministry of Energy of Israel and interested European countries.

Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz stated Wednesday that his country would supply Egypt and Jordan with gas.

"According to the signed agreement, from 2019, Israel will become the energy supplier for two Arab states," the newspaper's website quoted the minister as saying.

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In addition, Steinitz announced that Israel is building the longest gas pipeline under the Mediterranean to Europe, the length of which is estimated to be 2,000km.

"Although the capacity of the pipeline will be relatively modest — only 12 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Israel plans to enter with energy carriers only on a small part of the European market," he stated.

The minister, however, did not name the final price of gas for Middle Eastern or European consumers.

The Leviathan gas field, discovered in December 2010, is one of the largest young gas reserves in the world. According to the US Geological Survey, Leviathan’s volume of undiscovered reserves amounts to some 620 billion cubic meters of natural gas.