据管道&天然气杂志网3月9日开罗报道，以色列能源部长周二表示，一条海底管道将连接以色列利维坦气田（Leviathan）和埃及液化天然气(LNG)终端，这将使以色列对埃及的天然气出口能力翻番。

以色列从去年年初开始通过一条现有的天然气管道向埃及出口天然气，这条管道在陆路穿越西奈半岛北部之前，一直在近海运行。这些天然气可以在埃及的 Idku 和Damietta工厂液化，然后再出口到欧洲或亚洲。

上个月，两国表示已同意规划第二条管道。

以色列能源部长Yuval Steinitz在一次采访中表示，两国政府将推动这条海底管道，以使我们能够向埃及液化天然气设施输送的天然气数量翻一番。

距离以色列海岸130公里(合80英里)的利维坦气田，已经为以色列国内市场供应天然气，并向约旦和埃及出口天然气。其股东包括雪佛龙公司和Delek钻井公司。

Steinitz称，最终，这取决于相关公司的决定，但由于这是非常现实的，我相信这将需要一到两年的时间，你应该会看到这样的管道。

当被问及新管道的容量时，他补充道，我认为，一开始，我们说的可能是100亿立方米/年，但未来可能会增加。

Steinitz在开罗出席东地中海天然气论坛会议时表示，他乐观地认为，欧洲对天然气的需求将足以使额外的出口至少在未来15年内可行，而印度需求的快速增长也提供了一个充满希望的市场。

郝芬 译自 管道&天然气杂志网

原文如下：

Subsea Pipeline Could Double Israeli Gas Exports to Egypt

A subsea pipeline that would connect Israel's Leviathan gas field to Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals could double Israel's gas export capacity to Egypt, the Israeli energy minister said on Tuesday.

Israel started exporting gas to Egypt at the beginning of last year through an existing pipeline that runs offshore before crossing the north of the Sinai Peninsula overland. The gas can be liquefied at Egyptian plants of Idku and Damietta and re-exported to Europe or Asia.

Last month the two countries said they had agreed to plan the second pipeline.

The governments would promote the subsea pipeline "in order to double the amount of gas that we can send to the Egyptian LNG facilities," Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in an interview.

Leviathan field, located 130 km (80 miles) off Israel's coast, already supplies the Israeli domestic market and exports gas to Jordan and Egypt. Its shareholders include Chevron Corp and Delek Drilling LP.

"At the end of the day, it's up to the companies involved to decide, but since it's very realistic, I believe that it will take a year or two and you should see such a pipeline," Steinitz said.

Asked what capacity the new pipeline would have, he added: "I think to start with, we're speaking about a possible 10 bcm (billion cubic meters annually), but it might increase in the future."

Steinitz, in Cairo for a meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, said he was optimistic that demand for gas in Europe would be sufficient to make additional exports viable for at least the next 15 years, and that more rapidly growing demand in India also provided a promising market.