1/16/2014 @ 11:47AM
With the Eastern Mediterranean emerging as a possible alternative to Russian gas for European consumers, Moscow has found a point of entry of their own – Syria. Shortly before the New Year, Russia’s SoyuzNefteGaz signed a $90 million deal to support Syria’s first offshore effort. According to Oil Price, the deal will finance necessary testing for offshore and gas reserves to see if it is sufficient to pursue further infrastructure and extraction investment.
The agreement allows Syria to become the latest regional actor to get in on the Eastern Mediterranean energy rush, following in the footsteps of Cyprus, Lebanon and most actively, Israel.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey in 2010, the Levant Basin, which is shared by Israel, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is home to an estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as well as oil reserves. While Syria’s almost three year old civil conflict was thought to hold off any real exploration efforts in the country, Russia appears to be willing to overlook the ongoing violence and uncertainty. Calmer landscapes in Cyprus and Israel have cleared the way for partnerships with Noble Energy and interest from European firms, including Eni.
Even if other energy firms decide to follow SoyuzNefteGaz’s lead into Syria, they will have to contend with a heavily damaged energy infrastructure and domestic energy sector that has collapsed under the pressure of sanctions and violence.
So far, the Russian-Syrian agreement has few fans outside of Moscow and Damascus. Opposition forces inside of Syria have condemned the deal, saying the deal “aims to swap the riches of our homeland for Russian weapons destined to kill the Syrian people”. To the west, the partnership is likely to worry European national actors who’d hoped the Eastern Mediterranean gas find would provide a long-term, viable alternative to Russian gas.
Last year, the European Union’s push to reduce dependence on Russian gas, which has proven troublesome and unreliable in the past for some European consumers, suffered a blow with the collapse of the Nabucco pipeline project. The transmission line for Azerbaijani gas reserves was shelved in favor of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The latter pipeline will ship gas through European states less dependent on Russian gas than the Nabucco effort, leaving countries like Bulgaria and Hungary heavily reliant on Russian imports.
Regionally, the agreement is unlikely to ruffle too many feathers as Russia enjoys relatively cordial relations with Cyprus, Lebanon and even Israel. However, their alliance with Syria could put them alongside Beirut in challenges to Israel’s maritime borders when it comes to Lebanon’s own offshore activity. Among Lebanon’s 10 planned exploration blocs, the county’s southernmost claims fall into disputed waters with neighboring Israel. Bloc 9 falls into a contested area between the two countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones, leading to charges from Beirut that Israel was capable of siphoning off Lebanese reserves from current offshore efforts. In response, Israel has appealed to the United Nations in hopes of settling the maritime border dispute, but has pledged action should Lebanon act on claims in overlapping, offshore territory.
Lebanon has announced that they will begin exploration and production efforts soon, but progress has been slow and subject to a series of delays.
Christopher Coats Contributor
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