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Egypt to revise all foreign gas deals, including Israel’s

14 April 2011 08:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Egypt’s prime minister has asked for the revision off all contracts to supply gas abroad, including to Israel, APA reports quoting AFP.

Egypt supplies an estimated 40 percent of Israel’s gas in what, under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, was a highly controversial deal. Prime Minister Essam Sharraf "has directed the revision and review of all gas contracts Egypt agreed to with all countries, including Jordan and Israel,".

The contracts are to be revisited so the gas "would be sold with deserved prices that achieve the highest returns for Egypt," it added. Sharraf is to meet Jordanian Energy Minister Khaled Tuqan on Thursday to discuss the deal with his country. Shipments of gas resumed to Israel in March, after they were interrupted in a February 5 attack on a Sinai pipeline as Egypt was rocked by protests that brought down Mubarak. In December, four Israeli firms signed agreements to import gas under a 20-year contract valued at $5 billion-$10 billion (3.7-7.4 billion euros). The contract was signed with the Israeli-Egyptian East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), in which Ampal-American Israel Corp has a 12.5 percent stake.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Jewish state, in 1979, but the public has remained hostile towards Israel over its policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

After the military took power when Mubarak resigned on February 11, it pledged that it would respect the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.