Cyprus, Israel pledge quick deal in gas field dispute - KATHIMERINI

19.09.2022 • 19:30
MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

Israel and Cyprus said Monday that they have made “significant” headway in resolving a long-running dispute over an offshore natural gas deposit and say they are committed to quickly reaching a deal as Europe looks for new energy sources.

Cyprus Energy Minister Natasa Pilides and her Israeli counterpart, Karine Elharrar, held talks in the Cypriot capital, pledging to press toward a “fair and swift resolution.”

Israel claims that a portion of Cyprus’ Aphrodite deposit estimated to hold some 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas falls inside its nearby Ishai field, along an offshore demarcation line that separates the two countries’ exclusive economic zones.

Negotiations have stretched for several years, but Europe’s need to wean itself off Russian energy sources since the war in Ukraine appears to have added a new sense of urgency to the talks. Russia has cut back natural gas supplies to Europe, driving up prices.

Israeli energy minister due in Cyprus to address Aphrodite field dispute - CYPRUS MAIL

September 17, 2022
Christodoulos Mavroudis

Israeli energy minister Karine Elharrar will be in Cyprus on Monday 19 to address the pending dispute with Nicosia over the Yishai gas field, according to his Cypriot counterpart Natasa Pilides.

Pilides told CNA on that Elharrar will be visiting Cyprus “in the context of our institutionalised discussion over Yishai.”

Israeli daily business newspaper Calcalist on Saturday, citing unnamed but reliable sources reported that Israel was looking into a new framework to address the pending dispute with Cyprus over the Aphrodite/Yishai gas fields.

Reportedly, Elharrar will propose to the Cypriot side to take over 10 per cent of the field which the Israeli side considers its own, against monetary compensation.

This comes six months after intergovernmental parleys aimed at resolving the longstanding dispute were announced to be taking place between the two countries.

Rumors about Israel-Lebanon gas pact as Cyprus sits out - KATHIMERINI

05 SEPTEMBER 2022 - 11:35

America’s energy czar is purported to be mediating a secret gas arrangement between Israel and Lebanon, a Herculean task given delineation complexities but not farfetched given ongoing efforts to resolve similar disputes between Tel Aviv and Nicosia.

US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein will be in Beirut this week, according to sources in Israel, in an effort to mediate talks between Lebanon and Israel over a shared maritime border.

It was reported that Hochstein would present a new Israeli proposal that "includes a solution that would allow the Lebanese to develop the gas reserves in the disputed area while preserving Israel's commercial rights.”

Israel has been seeking a similar deal with neighbor Cyprus. The two countries claim zones that border Lebanon’s waters, proven to be rich in hydrocarbons, but also claim rights to a deposit spanning across their shared maritime border.

Egypt, Israel discuss plans to liquefy natural gas in Egyptian plants - XINHUA

2021-08-10 06:13:26

CAIRO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tariq al-Molla and the Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar discussed on Monday future plans to liquefy Israeli gas in Egyptian plants.

During a phone conversation, the two sides discussed the ongoing cooperation in the field of natural gas, and future plans to pump Israeli natural gas to be liquefied in Egyptian factories for re-export, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said in a statement.

The two ministers also talked about cooperation within the framework of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), stressing the need to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

In January 2019, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Jordan, and Palestine established the Cairo-based EMGF, whose charter entered into force in March, to become an intergovernmental organization concerned with natural gas affairs.