There is no political intention to cut off Egyptian gas supplies to Israel, said Nimrod Novak, vice-president of the Israeli gas company Mirhav. Nimrod denied that Tel Aviv received Egyptian gas at a bargain price, saying instead that Egyptian gas sold to Israel is the most expensive. Mirhav is an Israeli gas exporting company and an important member of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas coalition, which is responsible for Egyptian gas export to Israel. Novak said international investors "are worried because the supply from Egypt stopped for the second time in two months, and has been dropping continuously for a long time." He added in an interview with CNN that the last time Egypt stopped gas flow to Israel, losses reached $100 million. "We pay the highest price for Egyptian gas throughout the world, whether by pipeline to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, or to anywhere in the world through shipments of liquefied natural gas," he said. Egyptian experts criticized Novak's remarks, stressing that Israel is not telling the truth, especially since they receive Egyptian gas at low prices and since they cannot resort to international arbitration due to the suspension gas flow. Egyptian gas expert Dr. Ramadan Abu Alaa said Israel always issues false statements and that the agreement between Egypt and Israel is legally void. Abu Alaa said the agreement was not created in accordance with the law, particularly since Mirhav Gas Company is a joint stock company. He said to legally create an agreement a committee must be formed to assess the price of gas then bid with the participation of all gas companies. Abou Alaa said there is no relation of the Egyptian government to the convention where agreements are made between the two companies. Abou Alaa says there is no logic for Israelis to sue Egypt for lack of supply of gas, since the stop in gas flow was the result of a bombing of the pipeline. Abou Alaa said Israel receives Egyptian gas at a low price, an average of U.S. $4.15. The price is very low compared to Russia, which sold oil to the EU at the same time of signing the convention in 2008 at U.S. $13.6 per million British thermal units. Chairman of the Petroleum Khaleda, Dr. Ibrahim Zahran, said there was no transparency in the management of the export file, especially since Israel is getting Egyptian gas at the cheapest prices when Egyptian factories need it most.
