CAIRO – Interrupting gas flow for the fourth time this year, Egyptian pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula was attacked early on Tuesday, July 12, cutting supplies to Israel and Jordan, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
The blast occurred near the town of al-Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, the official MENA news agency reported Tuesday, adding that the ensuing "flames were up to 10 meters high.”
MENA quoted witnesses as saying that the assailants attacked the Al-Tawil security guard before the station, located near the northern town of Al-Arish.
The security guard and some members of his family were believed to have been hurt, the agency said, quoting witnesses.
The state’s Nile television said flames from the station could be seen up to 20km away.
It gave no details on the causes of the explosion or the extent of the damage.
"The area is being searched to find those behind this explosion and to find the type of explosives used," MENA said.
MENA said the station pumps gas to another station in Sheikh Zwayed city, which exports gas to Israel.
The agency earlier reported that the station was used to “export Egyptian gas abroad”.
Egypt also sells gas to Israel and Jordan among other countries.
Last week, a similar explosion targeted a station along the pipeline in the northern Sinai Peninsula at Bir Abd, 60km east of the Suez Canal.
Today’s attack is the fourth since February, when a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak and saw power handed over to a military council.
On April 27, the pipeline in the Al-Sabil area in north Sinai was also attacked, cutting off international gas supplies.
In February, attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfren in north Sinai, near the Gaza Strip.
There was also a failed attempt to attack the pipeline in March.
Iranian Offer
Complaining from repeated interruption for gas supplies, Jordanian official said they will no longer rely on Egyptian gas, adding that other options are being considered.
Khaled Toukan, the Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, said Jordan is considering an Iranian offer to supply natural gas to the Kingdom as a means of overcoming its current energy crisis.
He added that Iran submitted an offer last month to Jordan expressing its willingness to supply natural gas, but no prices have yet been floated.
Suffering repeated interruptions, which amounted to 82 days since the start of 2011, other options were being considered by the Kingdom, including supplies from Russia and Qatar, Toukan added.
Jordan, which buys 95 percent of its energy needs, imports about 240 million cubic feet (6.8 million cubic metres) of Egyptian gas a day, or 80 percent of its electricity requirements.
Earlier on Friday, Egypt and Jordan agreed to raise the 2012 supply to 220 million cubic feet after signing an initial agreement to review gas prices, Toukan told Jordanian television.
Egypt also supplies about 40 percent of Israel's natural gas which is used to produce electricity. In December, four Israeli firms signed 20-year contracts worth up to $10 billion (7.4 billion euros) to import Egyptian gas.
Egypt's opposition blocs, including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the public opinion have called for Cairo to revoke the deal, effective since 2008.
The controversial gas deal with Israel has been repeatedly challenged in Egyptian courts on the grounds of its secretive clauses and because it was done without parliamentary consultation.
A court imposed an injuction on the deal, in a move ignored by Mubarak's government. A higher court overturned the freeze in 2010, on condition the government regulate the quantity and price of gas exported.
In April, Egypt's public prosecutor ordered former energy minister Sameh Fahmy, five other officials and a businessman to stand trial on charges of squandering public funds related to the natural gas deal with Israel.
