Gas supplies to Israel are set to resume this month from a field in Egypt’s northern Sinai desert after a Feb. 5 pipeline explosion that was believed to be terrorist-generated. But Israel’s national infrastructure ministry has decided to fast-track a proposed $300-million liquified-natural-gas project off the country’s central Mediterranean coast as part of an effort to diversify its sources of supply.
Israel Natural Gas Lines, a state-owned utility, has issued a request for information for the project’s infrastructure. Egypt supplies 40% of Israel’s gas supply, which is used mostly for power production, with the rest coming from a gas field off Israel’s southern Mediterranean coast. The pipeline also provides supplies to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, according to published reports.