(Bloomberg) -- The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and their Egyptian partner signed an agreement to give them control over a pipeline to Egypt, a crucial step that would pave the way for a $15 billion export contract.
Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) and Egyptian East Gas Co. will buy a 39 percent stake in Eastern Mediterranean Gas Co., according to a statement released to the Tel Aviv bourse on Thursday. The buyers will pay $518 million for the holding, with Delek and Noble paying $185 million each and the remainder being paid by East Gas.
Under the agreement, the buyers will have exclusive right to lease and operate the subsea natural gas pipeline owned by EMG to transport natural gas from the Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs to Egypt.
The agreement eliminates legal obstacles to implementing the gas export contract between Israel and Egypt, seen as a step adding economic depth to a relationship dominated by security since the two countries signed a peace treaty more than four decades ago. It will also advance Egypt’s plan to capitalize on its own giant Zohr gas field and become a regional energy hub.