Egypt resumes gas supply to Israel

Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures (MNI) on Sunday announced that natural gas supplies from Egypt resumed as of last Thursday evening. Saboteurs affiliated with anti-Israel militants blew up sections of the pipeline, which passes through the Egyptian Sinai, on at least five separate occasions since riots began in February, which led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Deliveries were first restarted to Jordan, which is also fed by the line, and then, to Israel in stages, officials said, according to The Jerusalem Post. MNI officials said they hoped the renewal of service would serve to stave off an expected five percent rise in electricity prices. In remarks to the public in July after a previous attack on the pipeline, which provides about 40 percent of Israel's natural gas needs, MNI Minister Uzi Landau said that "the price will increase by about 20 percent due to the use of gasoline and diesel." The sabotage has slashed Egypt's output to Israel about 30 percent of agreed-upon amounts, the Globes business news site reported. The cut in volume forced the Public Utilities Authority to raise electricity rates by almost 10 percent in July, Globes said. The Israel Electric Corporation's interim switch to diesel and fuel oil for power generation over the summer cost the Israeli economy about NIS 10 million (around 2.7 million U.S. dollars) per day. After a previous bombing, Landau said that "the Tamar reserves can meet our needs for 25 years." Additionally, the government recently approved a plan to build a floating liquefied natural gas terminal that is expected to start operation in about a year's time. Israel and Cyprus are exploring potential massive gas sites off the Haifa coast, which has sparked opposition by Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Turkey, who claims ownership over sectors of the sites. At a clean-tech conference in July, Landau said Israel was investing heavily to develop its own