Swiss court rules that Egypt must pay Israel Electric USD 2 bn: A Swiss court has rejected an appeal by EGAS and the EGPC to overturn a French court’s decision last year ordering them to pay USD 2 bn in compensation to Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for halting gas supplied to it back in 2012, the company said on Friday, according to reports in Reuters and Bloomberg. Egypt had ended the 20-year agreement with IEC due to repeated attacks on pipelines supplying the gas in Sinai. An international arbitrator said Egypt should pay nearly USD 1.76 bn in compensation because of the halt in the gas supply. While there was no official response from the Oil Ministry, government sources tell Al Borsa that Egypt plans to enter into talks with Israel to reach a resolution before any decision is taken on the matter. The court decision may add fuel (no pun intended) to the dispute and could complicate any plans for Egypt to import gas from Israel as Prime Minister Sherif Ismail — a key supporter of turning Egypt into a regional energy hub — had made dropping the claim a condition for allowing the import of natural gas from our eastern neighbor. The decision is also interesting in light of unconfirmed rumors that Alaa Arafa’s Dolphinus again in talks with Israeli energy companies to import gas from the Israel’s Tamar field.

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