Egypt-Israel Gas Pump Resumes, Egyptians Become More Outraged

Ever since Egypt started supplying Israel with natural gas, the average Egyptian literally has no value. This has been a decision that totally conflicts with our pride and heritage. Israel has always been our one ultimate enemy, and will always be. There is no peace treaty that could ever happen with such terrorists who are supported by capitalists in the west.

First of all, we are giving away our resources, literally, to an enemy. Selling natural gas at a price well below its global market price, we are giving it away. Every drop of natural gas they get from us is transformed into Palestinian blood. Palestinians, our brothers, will suffer from this decision, either directly or indirectly. Here is how it goes. Israel gets electricity from gas-fired plants, they power their factories, producing more military equipment and slaughtering more Palestinians as a result.

Secondly, the contract is 15-year contract. According to DailyStarEgypt.com, this will guarantee a total of 1.7 billion cubic meters a year at the price of $1.5 per million BTU (British Thermal Units), whereas the world price of natural gas is $5.87 per million BTU. Moreover, the contract can be easily renewed up to 5 more years. Now that I've shown you the facts and numbers, I can proudly say that this contract is a total mess-up.

Here is a quote from DailyStarEgypt.com, which is, in my opinion, total bullshit.

Minister of Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils Mufid Shehab said in a parliamentary session that Egypt did not export gas to Israel because it was not the state or government that was supplying the gas, but a private company.

Strike one: How can you say that Egypt did not export gas to Israel? Gas is physically moved through pumps from Egypt to Israel. That's enough to call it exports, and if you don't like the terminology, the idea in itself is still conflicting with our aims as an Islamic nation.
Strike two: A private company selling well below market price (where market is the world)?? This is not possible by any means and simple logic would not agree with that. Who wouldn't want to make profit? If it's truely a private company, then it would've set a high price matching market price, and not below.
Strike three: Egypt has a government, which can interfere freely in private businesses and influence their decisions. A healthy government (with no international pressures that is) would not let national resources drain into the enemy's stronghold, not at such price anyway.

Here is another quote from the same website, DailyStarEgypt.com.

The minister also said that one could not accurately ascertain a world price for natural gas as the price always differed from contract to contract.

Just Google "natural gas world price", and links to the websites of the world's biggest energy-oriented organizations will show up, showing you the world prices of natural gas today. Even if the price differs from contract to contract, the difference will never reach 200%.

It is clearly a set-up. The Egyptian government is under international pressure by the west, Israel and global prices (of other commodities) in general. I'm not criticizing government action, but I'm criticizing the means. It should not dispose of the future of the country down the hole, but rather look after it and its people. The least thing would be negotiating, if the contract is somewhat inevitable. May be reducing the contract duration will do, as well as the ability to renew it. Raising the price of natural gas is definitely a way to benefit more from this contract, and increase national income. We could only pray that the situation would not get any worse, and that we can keep that last bit of dignity we have.

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