Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that the Egyptian government is not a party to the recent gas agreement with Israel.

Sisi said during his opening of a number of service centers for investors, on Wednesday, that the Egyptian government is not party to a private company’s deal to import quantities of natural gas from Israel.

He added that he was very pleased with the Egyptians' involvement in the events taking place in their country.

He pointed out that Egypt has nothing to hide, and what happened is a contractual matter between a private sector company based in Egypt and the state of Israel.

Israel has announced a deal with the private company “Dolphinus Holdings” to import natural gas over 10 years against 15 billion dollars.

Egyptian Oil Minister Tariq Mulla denied the government’s intervention in the deal, while Hamad Abdul Aziz, spokesman of the Ministry of Petroleum, said that in case the government approves of the agreement which is signed between private companies to import gas from Israel, these companies will use the local network for gas pipelines as well as the liquefaction stations in Egypt.

He added that the law regulating the new gas market allows companies to buy gas, import and resell, whether in the local market or re-export it through the liquefaction stations, adding that there are several countries in the region seeking to play this pivotal role as a regional energy midpoint, and Egypt has all the potential to take on this role.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52