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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has canceled his visit to Israel scheduled for next week after Tel Aviv failed to approve a natural gas agreement reached with Egypt, according to reports.
In a written statement, Israel’s Energy Ministry said Washington has been pressuring the Israeli government to approve the deal, which provides for natural gas supply from the Leviathan field in the Mediterranean to Egypt.
The statement added that Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen refused to sign the $35 billion agreement to supply natural gas to Egypt, insisting he would not approve the deal “until a consensus is reached on fair prices” for gas delivered from the Leviathan field to Israel.
Local media reported that Secretary Wright canceled his six-day trip to Israel due to Cohen’s refusal to finalize the agreement with Cairo.
NewMed Energy—a partner in Israel’s Leviathan field, one of the largest natural gas reserves in the Mediterranean—announced on Aug. 7 that a $35 billion gas export agreement had been signed with Egypt.
Under the deal, 130 billion cubic meters of natural gas would be supplied to Egypt from the Leviathan field through 2040. The agreement is also expected to pave the way for expanding the field, with the goal of extending gas supply to the Israeli market until 2064.
Egypt and Israel previously signed a deal in 2019 to supply 60 billion cubic meters of gas. Exports to Egypt began shortly after the Leviathan field came online in 2020.
Last year, a significant portion of the 11.33 billion cubic meters of gas produced from the Leviathan field was exported to Egypt and Jordan.
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