View of the Israeli Leviathan gas field gas processing rig near the Israeli city of Caesarea, on January 31, 2019. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL.

CTech – Tel Aviv-listed gas company Delek Group and Texas-based Noble Energy announced on Sunday the completion of a $520 million deal to acquire the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Co. (EMG) gas pipeline. Egyptian partner the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) paid $150 million, while Delek and Noble covered the rest. The deal gives the three companies, incorporated jointly as EMED, a 39% stake in the pipeline and a way to import gas from Israel to Egypt. Delek and Noble are the majority holders in Israeli natural gas fields Tamar and Leviathan.

In the announcement, the partners stated that the pipeline — used to stream gas from Egypt to Israel until a series of sabotage explosions during the Arab Spring took it out of commission — will be ready for commercial operations according to the previously decided upon terms. Last month, Calcalist reported that the Tamar and Leviathan partnerships signed new contracts with Dolphinus Holding Limited, to supply gas from Leviathan as of the end of 2019 and gas from Tamar six months after that.