Israel signed a $35 billion gas

Tel Aviv (dpa) — Israel has signed a gas export deal with Egypt worth 112 billion shekels ($35 billion), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at a joint press conference with Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen on Wednesday.

Netanyahu said half of this amount will flow to the Israeli Treasury, and promised “huge profits” from the exports.

The deal involves the export of gas from the Leviathan field, which is located about 130 kilometres off the port city of Haifa at a depth of around 1,700 metres. Partners in the project include the US energy company Chevron and Israeli firms NewMed Energy (formerly Delek) and Ratio Energies.

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According to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, the US government urged Israel to conclude the deal, hoping it would pave the way for a three-way meeting between Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi and US President Donald Trump at the end of the year.

“I approved the agreement after securing our other essential security interests,” Netanyahu said.

He said the deal strengthens Israel’s position as a regional energy power and contributes to stability in the region.

Egypt, which is in the midst of a deep economic crisis, is already dependent on Israel to meet its growing energy needs and supply industry and households.

Israel has other natural gas fields, with production from the Tamar field having already begun in 2013. It wants to secure its energy independence to protect from possible actions of enemy states in the region.