BREAKING: Blast destroys Egypt gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/breaking_blast_destroys_egypt_gas_pipeline_to_israel_jordan_20110926/

An explosion destroyed an Egyptian pipeline in Sinai on Tuesday that supplies Israel and Jordan with gas, security sources and witnesses said.

The security sources said the explosion happened west of the city of al-Arish. Witnesses said 15-metre high flames could be seen shooting up from the pipeline. The cause of the blast was not immediately known and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The army surrounded the area and the company operating the pipeline closed it down after the blast, which was heard far away from the scene.

The pipeline has been repeatedly blown up by assailants believed to be opposed to selling Egyptian gas to Israel since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

The last attack occurred in July when men with machine guns in a small truck forced guards at a station out and blew it up.

The pipeline is run by Gasco, Egypt’s gas transport company which is a subsidiary of the national gas company EGAS.

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148319#.ToHe-2tIvp4

Three Terrorists Blow up Sinai Gas Pipeline to Israel
Terrorists blew up the Sinai-Israeli neutral gas pipeline for at least the sixth time this year in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday.

Three terrorists blew up the Egyptian-Israeli neutral gas pipeline for at least the sixth time this year in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday in the northern Sinai. The line also supplies gas to Jordan.

The terrorists destroyed a pumping station, leaving behind one man who was hospitalized as the flames from the blast shot up nearly 50 feet in the air.

Egyptian soldiers have prevented several other attacks on the pipeline and at pumping station, but Tuesday’s attack provides more evidence that Bedouin and Arab terrorists have carved out areas of de facto control in the Sinai.

It also reflects sentiment among the increasingly influential Muslim Brotherhood and other anti-Israel elements opposed to the deal by Hosni Mubarak in 2008 to sell gas to Israel at a price they say was artificially low. The ousted president allegedly pocketed more than a billion dollars in the agreement.

The cut in the gas supply affects Israel, which buys approximately 40 percent of its natural gas from Egypt, but it hits Jordan even harder because the Hashemite kingdom uses Egyptian gas to generate 80 percent of its electricity.

Israel hopes to be self-reliant for natural gas in three years, after its off shore gas fields come on line.

[Spiraling Leopard]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/27/egypt-pipeline-idUKLDE78Q00120110927

UPDATE 2-Assailants blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan

(Updates with report of attackers)

By Yusri Mohamed

(Reuters) - Unknown assailants blew up an Egyptian pipeline in Sinai on Tuesday that supplies Israel and Jordan with gas, security sources and witnesses said.

A witness told investigators he saw three men jump out of a small truck at a pumping station in an area known as al-Maidan, southwest of the city of el-Arish, and open fire on the pipeline, the security sources said.

This was followed by a large explosion heard across the city and witnesses said 15-metre high flames could be seen shooting up from the pipeline.

A local hospital said one man was admitted with burns from the blast, which also set olive groves and shacks in the area on fire. Fire brigades were bringing the flames under control after the company operating the pipeline cut off the gas supply.

Since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February the pipeline has been repeatedly blown up by assailants believed to be opposed to selling Egyptian gas to Israel.

The last attack occurred in July when men with machine guns in a small truck forced guards at a station out and blew it up.

The extent of the damage caused by Tuesday's blast and the effect on gas supplies to Israel and Jordan was not immediately clear.

Egypt has been trying to charge Israel and Jordan more for its gas after complaining that prices fixed during Mubarak's rule were below market rates.

The pipeline is run by Gasco, Egypt's gas transport company which is a subsidiary of the national gas company EGAS.

The Egyptian armed forces launched a security operation in Sinai in August to root out hundreds of suspected militants believed to be behind some of the attacks on the pipeline and police compounds in the peninsula.

Security sources said then that they had captured a group of four Islamist militants as they prepared to blow up the gas pipeline in el-Arish.