Cyprus Mail: High price for Israeli gas, reports say

The Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) said on Monday it had no connection to media reports claiming the partners in the Leviathan gas field have offered to sell Cyprus natural gas at a price that is 2.5 times higher than that in Israel.

In a statement, DEFA said it was “compelled to comment” on the reports, and stressed that the financial proposals submitted to it “have not been opened and remain closed in a secure place”.

A day earlier, Israeli website Globes wrote that Leviathan partners Delek and Ratio, bidding in the tender published by DEFA, are offering gas at $15 per million thermal units (BTU), compared with $6 per million BTU in current Israeli gas supply contracts.

Citing its sources, Globes said there are two main reasons for the high price: the cost of laying a pipeline to Cyprus and because Cyprus is paying $20 or more per million BTU for alternative fuels.
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