France's Sofregaz has been selected by Israel's Police, Energy & Infrastructure Ministry to carry out a feasibility study aimed at identifying routes for the import of natural gas from the region. The ministry said that it had chosen Sofregaz out of six international bidders for the contract because of its 'international experience in this type of operation' (MEED 24:12:93).

Sofregaz has been given six months to study three main possibilities. These are: a pipeline from the Gulf passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan; a pipeline from Egypt's Nile Delta region; and the transport of gas from the Gulf in liquefied form by tanker to the port of Eilat or to a terminal on Israel's Mediterranean coast

It is understood that Qatar, which has held discussions with Israel for several months, is interested in the possibility of re-exporting gas from Israeli ports to Europe.