Palestinian Ministerial Team to Follow up Gas Extraction from Gaza

Palestinian Ministerial Team to Follow up Gas Extraction from Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said his government would form a team of ministers to follow up on the extraction of gas off the coast of Gaza.

He added that the head of the investment fund, Mohammad Mostafa, and his team were negotiating an agreement on gas extraction with Egypt.

Sources had told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt succeeded in persuading Israel to start extracting gas from the Palestinian field after its development, amid Europe’s need for energy as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The sources added ongoing negotiations focused on the extraction mechanisms and each side’s shares and revenues, pointing to “great progress” in this regard.

The Palestinians hope that the negotiations would lead to an agreement that would satisfy the three parties, namely Palestine, Egypt and Israel.

“We want an agreement that serves our national rights and capabilities, and benefits our people,” Shtayyeh told a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

British Gas company and its partner, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) discovered the field in 2000, 36 kilometers west of Gaza City.

Later that year, the company succeeded in drilling two wells in the area, the Marine 1 and 2 gas fields, and estimated the existing amount of gas at about 1.4 trillion cubic feet, which would