Israel monopolises gas find on Egypt border

Named Royee, it is said by the Israeli media that the field may contain around 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, according to Egyptian website Alamat Online the field is located on the border of Egypt-Israel territorial waters; Israel, it complained, is monopolising the resource.

Ratio Oil and Israel Opportunity Energy Resources said that a seismic survey of the Royee field indicated that it contained huge amounts of natural gas. Economists quoted by the Times of Israel say that the gas may not be extracted in the near future because there is so much in two other fields, Leviathan and Tamar. The two companies hold 70 per cent and 10 per cent stakes in the field respectively; the balance is held by Italian power company Edison.