EGYPT: Flames pour from a fractured gas pipeline in the Sinai Desert following the sixth bomb attack in 2011

Record ID: 830718

  • Title: EGYPT: Flames pour from a fractured gas pipeline in the Sinai Desert following the sixth bomb attack in 2011
  • Date: 11th November 2011
  • Summary: MAZAR NEAR AL-ARISH, NORTHERN SINAI, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 10, 2011) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) FLAMES POURING FROM DAMAGED GAS PIPELINE SECURITY MEN WATCHING MORE OF FLAMES DESERT LANDSCAPE LIT UP BY THE FIRE MORE OF BLAZING PIPELINE
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVADDI4R9KCKXD1DVA346I18QTLF
  • Story Text: Saboteurs blew up the gas pipeline between Egypt, Israel and Jordan on Thursday morning (November 10) in Northern Sinai using remote controlled explosive bombs forcing a shutdown in the flow of gas, Egyptian security sources said.
    The blast, the sixth this year and the first since pumping was resumed on Oct. 24, was near Mazar area, 30 km (18 miles) west of the town of Al-Arish.
    A security source told Reuters the attackers had used two trucks and extended wires were found at the scene.
    The pipeline has been a target for attacks by anonymous saboteurs since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in February after a popular uprising.
    Egypt and Israel have signed a 20-year natural gas deal by which Egypt would export gas to its neighbour; however, the deal was unpopular with the Egyptian public and critics argued the Jewish state had been offered gas at prices that were too low.
    A company official from East Mediterranean Gas Co (EMG), which exports Egyptian gas to Israel, had said in July that international shareholders in the firm were pursuing legal claims against Egypt for $8 billion in damages from contract violations in gas supplies. That followed disruptions caused by pipeline attacks.
    Egypt doubled the price of gas exported to Jordan last month.
    Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab said the new price for gas exported to Jordan was just above $5 per million BTU, compared to the previous price of $2.15 to $2.30.
    The Egyptian government said this month it would tighten security measures along the pipeline by installing alarm devices and appointing security patrols from local Bedouin tribes.
    Previous explosions have closed the pipeline, run by Gasco, Egypt's gas transport company -- a subsidiary of the national gas company EGAS, for weeks.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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