Israel has responded to Egyptian efforts to allow the Palestinian Authority to produce natural gas off the coast of Gaza, the Al-Monitor website reported on Sunday, a report confirmed by a PL executive committee member.
Egypt has been holding secret bilateral talks for several months after years of Israeli objections to producing natural gas off the coast of Gaza for security reasons.
The field in question, located about 19 miles west of the Gaza coast, was discovered in 2000 by British Gas (now BG Group) and contains more than 1,000 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The cost of its development is estimated at $1.2 billion.
The senior Egyptian intelligence official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that "an Egyptian security delegation discussed for several months with the Israeli side the issue of allowing natural gas production off the coast of Gaza. The delegation was finally able to reach a compromise that would benefit all parties involved."
On February 21, 2021, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding on offshore gas field development in Gaza.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holdings Company and the Palestinian Authority will have to work together to develop the gas field, transfer gas to the Palestinian areas and eventually sell it to Egypt. The Egyptian official explained that Israel had requested that operations extract the gas from Gaza begin in early 2024.