Cairo, Egypt - Egypt's Oil Minister Abdallah Ghorab has stressed that Cairo will not accept any export deal that offers Israel lower natural gas prices than it charges Jordan. Ghorab's statement Tuesday came one day after official sources at the Egyptian Oil Ministry said Jordan had agreed to raise the price of its Egyptian gas imports to US$4 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs), up from US$1.50 in its previous contract. That means Israel will be expected to pay the same price for its gas imports from Egypt. Egypt's post-revolution interim leaders have promised to review gas contracts, some of which are well below the market averages of US$6 to US$7 per million BTUs. The pipeline used for transferring gas to the two countries has been targeted in two bomb attacks since February, bringing the supply to a halt. Experimental testing on the pumping of gas resumed earlier this month, after repairs were made to the pipeline that was attacked in April. Israel receives up to 45 percent of its gas from Egypt under a 20-year deal signed in 2005. There is a large public discontent with the gas export policies of the ousted regime of former longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak himself is facing trial for alleged corruption in Egyptian gas deals with Israel, among other charges that include the killing of protesters of the January 25th peaceful revolution.

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