OREANDA-NEWS. Israel and Egypt on Sunday, February 21, agreed to build a new gas pipeline. The agreement was reached at a meeting in Jerusalem between Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and Egyptian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Tariq al-Mulla.

The document stipulates, that the gas produced at the «Leviathan» field in the Mediterranean will be supplied to Egyptian liquefaction plants, said an Israeli government official, who asked not to be named. The project is aimed at increasing gas exports to Europe, he added.

The «Leviathan» field in the Eastern Mediterranean off the Israeli coast was discovered in 2010. Experts estimate it's natural gas reserves at 535 billion cubic meters. In January 2020, Israel began exporting gas extracted from «Leviathan» to Egypt via the EMG pipeline between Israel's Ashkelon and Egypt's El-Arish. At the time of publication, it remains unknown, whether the new gas pipeline will be connected to EMG or directly connect the field to Egypt.

Earlier it was reported, that the European Union's sanctions regime against Turkey's unauthorized drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean has been extended for a year. The restrictive measures will be in effect until November 12, 2021. Currently, two people are subject to sanctions, their names have not yet been announced.