Egypt to resume natural gas supplies to Jordan within 10 days
By Summer Said
Egypt will resume natural gas supplies to Jordan within 10 days after repairing a pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula that was damaged by explosives planted by unidentified militants early Sunday.
Egyptian investigators and a technical committee are currently examining the site of the attack to evaluate the damage and the repairs are expected to start Tuesday, state-run Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co., or EGAS, said in a statement Monday.
Initial evaluation shows that the explosions, which caused no casualties, damaged about 12 kilometers of the 36-inch pipeline in the Sinai town of El Arish, it added.
The explosions follow militant attacks on a regional airport and security checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula in recent days.
The pipeline, through which about 100 million cubic feet a day of gas is transported to Jordanian power plants, has been attacked 16 times since early 2011 when an uprising forced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
The latest attack, the first since July last year, comes after the elected President Mohammed Morsi -- who has the support of the Muslim Brotherhood -- was ousted Wednesday by the country's military after just one year in office.
The Egyptian army Friday declared a state of emergency in areas bordering the Suez shipping route after a militant attack on a regional airport triggered fears of oil disruptions and pushed crude prices higher.
Dow Jones Newswires
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