Israel and Egypt were negotiating to build an underwater gas pipeline

According to Cairo Bloomberg, Israel's energy minister, Yuval Steinitz, said Israel and Egypt were negotiating to build an underwater gas pipeline as part of an effort to turn the eastern Mediterranean into an energy export hub at the door of Europe.

Steinitz said it was possible to start building pipelines as early as next year to transport natural gas from the Levitan and Tamar oilfields off the coast of Israel to existing LNG plants in Egypt for processing and re-export.

The new pipeline will enable Israel to export up to 7 billion cubic metres of oil a year to Egypt over the existing EMG pipeline linking southern Israel with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Steinitz told Bloomberg in Cairo: "There is no final decision yet, but there are negotiations." He participated in the first Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas Forum, which aims to promote cooperation among emerging gas producers, consumers and transit countries in the region. The next meeting will be held in April.

Oil ministers from Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, Italy and the Palestinian Authority attended the meeting on Monday, where they agreed to work together to monetize oil reserves by utilizing existing infrastructure and increasing productivity.

The meeting took place one year after the signing of a $15 billion agreement, a landmark agreement that shows Israel will export natural gas to Egypt in the next decade.