Israel Matzav

Gazprom to join Mediterranean energy hunt?

Russian energy giant Gazprom may be seeking to join the consortium drilling for natural gas off Israel's and Cyprus' Mediterranean coasts (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).

The Russians reportedly are interested in a partnership in the Leviathan field, the biggest gas zone found so far in Israel's exclusive economic zone. It contains an estimated 16 trillion cubic feet of gas. The next biggest field is Tamar, which contains an estimated 8 tcf.

Officials in Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office say the discoveries could contain double the volume currently listed. They said the known reserves are worth $100 billion-$130 billion.

Israel's gas fields account for only a fraction of the energy riches believed to lie in the Levant Basin that stretches from Syria through Lebanon, Israel, the Gaza Strip and Egypt and includes the waters of the island of Cyprus.

The U.S. Geological Service reported in 2010 that the region contains around 122 tcf of natural gas as well as 1.7 billion barrels of oil.

If Russia joins, they might be seen as taking the side of Israel, Cyprus and Greece in a dispute with Turkey and Lebanon over natural resources.

Acquiring an interest in Israel's boom could be lucrative for Gazprom and extend its international reach. But Gazprom could also be buying into a hornet's nest of energy conflicts between regional rivals that could seriously impede development of gas fields that could transform the economy of the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey, determined to become the region's paramount power and at odds with Moscow over Syria, wouldn't look kindly on Russia muscling into its backyard on such a strategic level.

Such a development could further complicate disputes triggered between the region's states by the energy bonanza, heightening tensions from long-running conflicts in the volatile zone that until the big strikes off Israel was considered poor in natural resources.

Lebanon is at odds with Israel, with which it is technically still at war. Beirut claims Leviathan extends into its waters north of the Jewish state.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 and seized the northern part of the island, which it proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and is recognized only by Ankara.

The island's southern sector remains under the control of Greek Cypriots whose government is recognized internationally.

Turkey, which broke a long-running strategic alliance with Israel in 2010, insists the Greek Cypriots have no authority to conduct a gas exploration program.

Israel and Cyprus, whose EEZs adjoin one another, said they plan to cooperate on gas production, jointly exporting to energy-hungry Europe via Greece.

Hmmm.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, natural gas, Russia, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:43 PM