CAIRO - Egypt will soon finish drafting a new contract for gas exports to its neighbor Israel that includes a big increase in prices, a newspaper cited the petroleum minister as saying on Tuesday.
Gas supplies to Israel have been disrupted by a
series of attacks on the pipeline in the Sinai border region by assailants believed to oppose the sale of gas to the Jewish state.
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Egypt recruits Sinai Beduin to protect natural gas pipeline The attacks became more frequent and supplies were halted after the overthrow of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Egypt's army-backed government, under popular pressure to toughen its
stance towards Israel, has sought to renegotiate the terms of the gas
deal, complaining that the previous agreement signed under Mubarak fixed
prices below market rates.
"The final draft related to amending the prices for exporting natural
gas to Israel will be completed soon. It will see a big increase in the
price," newspaper
Al Ahram reported, citing Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab.
He said gas supplies to Israel were still suspended after the latest attack on the pipeline in Sinai in late September,
Al Ahram reported.
Egypt is also seeking to renegotiate prices of gas exports to Jordan, which have also been disrupted by the attacks.