Israeli gas routed to Egypt through Jordan?

Israeli firms developing the Leviathan gas field are trying to find a way around the financial disputes blocking their export agreement with Egypt, according to Bloomberg. The developers are reportedly discussing ways to reroute the gas through a pipeline in neighboring Jordan, operated by Jordanian Egyptian Fajr for Natural Gas Transmission & Supply. While the detour would be more costly than the straight line through Sinai on the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline, it would bypass the issue of Egypt having to pay a USD 2 bn judgement to Israel’s state electricity company, which has held up an export agreement. Egyptian businessmen Alaa Arafa’s Dolphinus Holdings is looking to purchase 3 bcm a year from Israel’s Delek Group Ltd. and Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., but the additional costs are creating an issue, Arafa tells Bloomberg. The deregulation of Egypt’s natural gas sectoralready has people on the Israeli side eying a return to one of their key markets, as development of the Leviathan is expected to cost USD 3.75 bn. Israel already exports gas to Jordan from other fields.