Israel signs largest gas contract with Egypt

Israel has approved a deal that will supply natural gas to Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, describing it as the country's largest-ever gas deal.

Israel signed the export agreement in August with Chevron and its partners to supply up to $35 billion of gas to Egypt from the Leviathan natural gas field.

"I have today approved the largest gas deal in Israel's history. The deal is for 112 billion shekels ($34.67 billion)," Netanyahu said.

According to him, the natural gas deal with Cairo was worth NIS 112 billion ($34.7 billion), of which NIS 58 billion ($18 billion) would go into public coffers. In the first four years, he said, around NIS 500 million ($155 million) would go to the state yearly, and this was expected to climb to NIS 6 billion per year ($1.9 billion) by 2033.

He added that the deal greatly strengthens Israel’s position as a regional energy superpower, and contributes to regional stability.

This summer, SOCAR has closed a deal to buy a 10% stake in Tamar, one of Israel's biggest gas fields. The deal is worth an estimated $1.25 billion