CAIRO: Egyptian gas supplies to East Mediterranean Gas Co (EMG) and its Israeli clients are expected to resume later this month following delays in pipeline repair work, American Israel Corp (Ampal) said on Wednesday. Ampal, a holding company, has a 12.5 percent interest in EMG. The Egyptian National Gas Co told EMG the delay in restoring natural gas supplies was to due to a hold-up in repair work on a pipeline from Egypt to Jordan belonging to GASCO, the Egyptian gas transport company, after an explosion and subsequent fire on February 5 in a metering station. At the time, GASCO was expecting repair work to conclude and gas supply to resume on February 17. Egyptian state television and local government officials reported saboteurs blew up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's North Sinai, disrupting flows to Israel and Jordan after Islamists called on militants to exploit the unrest that led to the overthrow of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Neither EMG's site nor its pipeline were damaged as the affected GASCO station is not a part of the EMG pipeline system and is located 30 kilometers from the EMG site. Egypt has been Israel's main gas supplier since 2007, accounting for 20 percent of the total electricity production in the state. Due to an agreement signed in 2005, Egypt has been supplying the gas at much lower rates than those of the global market. The rest of Israel's natural gas supply comes from Yam Tethys, a reservoir expected to last until 2013. If Egypt continues to withhold supplies, however, expectancy will be shortened to 2012. Tamar, another reservoir, may be able to replace it, but is only expected to be operational in 2014. BM
