American chambers of Greece, Cyprus, Israel hail Trump’s signing of EastMed Act - KATHIMERINI

FRIDAY DECEMBER 27, 2019 / 18:22

The American chambers of commerce in Greece, Cyprus and Israel have issued a joint statement hailing US President Donald Trump’s signing of the EastMed Act as a step toward promoting security and energy partnerships in the region.

“On the 20th of December, President Trump signed the EastMed Act to primarily promote security and energy partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean. This Act, otherwise cited as the ‘Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019,’ exhibits the historic metamorphosis in United States foreign policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, reflecting to a great extent the strategic view and principle that the security of partners and allies in the Eastern Mediterranean region is critical to the security of the United States and Europe,” the joint statement said.

“Through the Act, the United States commits to continue robust official strategic engagement with Israel, Greece and Cyprus and to actively participate in the trilateral dialogue on energy, maritime security, cybersecurity and protection of critical infrastructure conducted among the three countries,” the statement said.

Trump's energy dominance agenda hinges on Egypt - WASHINGTON EXAMINER

April 10, 2019 11:59 AM

John Siciliano & Josh Siegel

President Trump needs Egypt’s economy to grow up fast if he wants his vision of “energy dominance” to come into full force, seeing that the North African country is a key lynchpin in the global oil market, yet in desperate need of infrastructure investment.

At Tuesday’s meetings at the White House, Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi discussed a new, loosely organized natural gas collaboration between Egypt, Israel and Southern Europe as necessary for the two countries’ ambitions.

“One of the things we’ve been particularly encouraged by over the course of recent years is the increasing leadership role the Egyptians are playing in terms of developing the [natural] gas assets in the Eastern Mediterranean, which has been a very productive area of cooperation,” said a senior White House official with the National Security Council ahead of the meeting.

Trump wants Al-Sissi to use Egypt’s newfound natural gas discoveries to modernize the country’s economy and upgrade the global trade infrastructure at the Suez Canal.

Egypt's Sissi Confirms Unprecedented Military Cooperation With Israel - HAARETZ

Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Africa 2018 Forum, Egypt December 9, 2018

Jan 04, 2019 5:21 PM

• Egyptian president addresses cooperation against militants in Sinai in interview for CBS
• Cairo's envoy to the U.S. asks that the interview be withheld from broadcast

Egypt's military cooperation with Israel has reached unprecedented levels, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air Sunday.

Sissi was referring primarily to security cooperation against militants in the northern Sinai – cooperation that Egypt has until now avoided discussing publicly.

Asked whether cooperation between the sides can be described as the "closest ever," Sissi said: "That is correct…We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis."

‘Cyprus’ oil and gas resources should be equitably shared between both communities on the island’ - CYPRUS MAIL

MAY 20, 2018
Apostolos Zoupaniotis

Cyprus’ oil and gas resources should be equitably shared between both communities on the island, in the context of an overall settlement said Jonathan Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Cohen replied in writing to questions concerning Cyprus, submitted by Bob Menendez, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee moved without a vote the confirmation of the Ambassadorial Nominee, Jonathan Cohen, to the full Senate, where he is expected to receive an easy approval. Cohen was nominated by President Trump to be the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations.

Asked on the role the Security Council should play in addressing Turkey’s belligerent actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, including Turkish naval efforts to obstruct hydrocarbons exploration in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, Cohen said:
“If confirmed, I will continue to support longstanding U.S. policy recognizing the Republic of Cyprus’s right to develop its resources in its EEZ. The island’s oil and gas resources, like all of its resources, should be equitably shared between both communities on the island in the context of an overall settlement”.

US backing Greece's energy agenda, Ambassador Pyatt says - KATHIMERINI

04.MAY.2018 : 13:18

The US will be a reliable supplier and ally for Greece as it deregulates its energy market, US Ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt said on Thursday, adding that Greece is a very important partner in Washington's energy agenda.

Speaking at an energy conference, the US ambassador stressed that energy security makes countries less vulnerable to external pressure. He accused Russia of using the “weapon” of the interrupting energy supply 55 times in the past, as a tool for establishing its policies. In this context, Pyatt said the US opposed the North and South Stream pipelines, stressing that they are another tool in the hands of Moscow.

The ambassador stressed that importing liquefied gas from the United States could play an important role in diversifying supplies to Greece and Europe and recalled Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's statement during his visit to the United States and his meeting with President Trump that Greece will become the third US gas importer in Europe. He pointed out that the US supports Greece's emerging role as an energy hub and has described our country as a pillar of stability and a strong partner of the West in a difficult environment.

The acquisition of the gas grid operator's DESFA's shares is a significant investment with a vision, that will show the way for other investors to follow, said Italian Ambassador Efisio Luigi Marras. He pointed out that one of the reasons for illegal immigration, an issue of concern for both Italy and Greece, is a lack of energy that increases the pressure on the European borders.

National Bank is willing to spend 2.0 billion euros on energy investments over the next five years, said Chief Executive Officer Leonidas Fragiadakis.

Shell's Gaza Gas Field Sale Hits Problems - HART ENERGY / REUTERS

Friday, January 12, 2018 - 12:20pm

It may prove to be Royal Dutch Shell Plc's (NYSE: RDS.A) hardest sell. The Anglo-Dutch group is struggling to find a buyer for its gas field off the Gaza Strip, even among energy companies long used to dealing with projects fraught with political and security risks.

At least one European company has shown interest in the undeveloped Gaza Marine Field following a reconciliation deal in October between the two rival Palestinian factions, a source involved in the talks said.

But the firm's discussions over the field, located about 30 km (20 miles) off the Gaza coast, have ground to a halt since tensions in the wider region have taken a fresh turn for the worse, the source told Reuters.

"Until the political situation is resolved I really can't see anything happening here," he said.

Gaza Marine has long been seen as a golden opportunity for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to join the Mediterranean gas bonanza, providing a major source of income to reduce its reliance on foreign aid.

Russian gas pipelines to go ahead despite U.S. sanctions - REUTERS

AUGUST 3, 2017 / 1:11 PM
Oksana Kobzeva, Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions will make it harder for Russia to build two gas export pipelines to Europe but the projects are unlikely to be stopped.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reluctantly signed into law further sanctions on Russia but some of the measures are discretionary and most White House watchers believe he will not take action against Russia's energy infrastructure.

This would allow Gazprom's two big pipeline projects to go ahead, although at a higher price and with some delays.

The Kremlin, dependent on oil and gas revenues, sees the pipelines to Germany and Turkey - Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream - as crucial to increasing its market share in Europe.

It also fears that Western partners - needed to develop the deepwater, shale and Arctic gas deposits that will fill the pipelines - will be scared off by sanctions.

Anastasiades to meet Pence at the White House - CYPRUS MAIL / CNA

US Vice President Pence

June 3, 2017
CNA News Service

President Nicos Anastasiades will meet next week with US Vice President Mike Pence. According to well-informed sources in Washington, the meeting will take place on Thursday, June 8, at 2pm local time (6pm GMT).

Last February, the president accepted an invitation to address the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum, on June 5. At the same time, Nicosia sought to arrange a meeting between Anastasiades and President Donald Trump, as well as with Pence. The last time a

President from Cyprus visited the White House was in 1996.
CNA said a meeting with Trump should not be ruled out while another possibility is that the US President will briefly attend the Anastasiades – Pence meeting.

Libya's deepening split finds battleground at oil terminals - EGYPT INDEPENDENT

Sun, 12/03/2017 - 10:27

Hundreds if not thousands of armed men are converging on Libya's main oil shipping terminals, which the rival powers in the country's east and west are fighting to control in a battle being watched by global oil markets.

The struggle for the Ras Lanuf refinery and nearby Sidr depot threatens to spiral into an all-out conflict between east and west. Already, it has seen the bloodiest fighting yet between the two camps: around 40 troops from the east were killed over four days as militias backed by western factions stormed the area last Friday, losing a handful of casualties.

Now forces from the east loyal to military strongman Khalifa Hafter are massing nearby, threatening a new assault to wrest back the facilities, which are nominally in the hands of the Tripoli government.

No Cyprus solution: no UN and no gas? - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

March 12, 2017
Fiona Mullen

Efforts to solve the Cyprus problem are dying fast. In an interview with Kibris on Monday, the UN Special Advisor, Espen Barth Eide said something that should wake everyone up on this island.

Translated back from the Turkish, he said: “If the process fails, I have the feeling that it will not be possible to expect the UN to come again after a couple of years when things improve and give it another try. I don’t know. This is why I am worried. I would be more worried if I were living here. I hope I am wrong but I have to say that I am worried it will not be a smooth exit.”

This is diplo-speak for: “If you don’t come back to the table, don’t expect the UN to try again”.

What Trump means for Israel's energy sector - ISRAEL POLICY FORUM / MATZAV BLOG

February 13, 2017
Allison W. Good

The transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration is bound to usher in a host of policy changes for Israel, but perhaps nowhere will this be felt more acutely than in energy policy. Despite the plethora of implications that eastern Mediterranean natural gas reserves have for international energy security and geopolitics, the region – and Israel more specifically – must prepare for a more hands-off U.S. approach. Since gas was first discovered in the Levant Basin in 2009, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, and Turkey benefited from an administration willing to spend political capital on clearing obstacles to development. President Trump’s isolationist energy platform and pro-Russian bent may not intentionally hinder the exploration, development, and distribution of eastern Mediterranean gas, but it does remove the active U.S. foreign policy factor that has helped speed up the exploitation of this resource.

Leviathan FID faces risk of indefinite delay - NATURAL GAS WORLD

February 10th, 2017 9:40am
Ya'acov Zalel

The next two weeks could be crucial for the Leviathan gas field development as the operator, Noble Energy, is due to publish its annual report February 14 and its planned operations and investment budget for 2017. And on February 20, Delek Group has either to exercise a $1.75bn bank loan for the field development, or decline it. That decision is dependent on specific conditions, which were not disclosed, as well as upon Noble Energy's final investment decision (FID). If the FID is not positive, taking the loan would be irresponsible.

On the face of it, Delek is eager to move forward with Leviathan development, despite a dearth of sales contracts (PSAs) while Noble Energy has kept silent on the issue.

Stalled Cyprus unity talks catalyst, not deal breaker - NEW EUROPE

Cyprus’ Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis (L) signs an agreement
on the transfer of natural gas through a direct undersea pipeline
from Cyprus' EEZ towards Egypt, in Nicosia, Cyprus, August 31, 2016.
Lakkotrypis told New Europe on February 1, 2017, that exports
from Cyprus’ Aphrodite field are planned for Egypt.

FEBRUARY 3, 2017, 21:46 
Kostis Geropoulos

ATHENS – Cyprus hopes the new US Administration of Donald Trump will continue supporting the strategic interests of Nicosia and Washington in East Mediterranean, Cyprus’ Energy Minister told New Europe.

Nicosia and Washington share common strategic interests, Cyprus’ Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on the sidelines of the Athens Energy Forum on February 1.

“We have a very close relationship with the State Department. We’re very close and we look forward to the see the new Administration and to start discussions. I’m sure they will be briefed. I cannot comment on that because we haven’t see yet who our counterparts in the US will be,” Lakkotrypis said.

He said that Cyprus could help boost the EU’s energy security and play a role in the EU Energy Union. “We’re discussing with the European Union a number of projects of common interest that will help us to ship the gas from Cyprus to Europe, involving Israel, involving Egypt, involving, of course, Greece, which is another member state,” Cyprus’ Energy Minister said.

Trump's energy secretary pick would deepen US-Israeli ties in sector - JERUSALEM POST

27 JANUARY 2017 06:30Sharon Udasin

Under the new administration the US stands to become a global leader in the natural gas sector, particularly in liquefied natural gas.

If former Texas governor Rick Perry becomes energy secretary, American-Israeli relations in the sector stand the chance to become stronger than ever, industry stakeholders told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

“Rick Perry is a friend of Israel and has visited Israel,” said Zvi Rome, chairman of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce’s energy committee.

“What we have learned – we the energy committee here in Israel – is that this administration will take a fresh look at all energy issues in the US, where the lead concern is to allow energy companies to take their natural leadership position in the world.”

US oil companies may benefit from stronger political support - NEW EUROPE

NOVEMBER 11, 2016, 20:49 
Kostis Geropoulos

ATHENS – The new US Administration of President Donald Trump is unlikely to facilitate the export of hydrocarbons from Israel, Cyprus and Greece but support for solution of the Cyprus problem will remain, top experts told New Europe.

“With regards to export of hydrocarbons from Israel, Cyprus and Greece I do not see any direct impact, but if prices stay low it will not help,” Charles Ellinas [former] CEO of Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company told New Europe on November 10, adding that such exports are still challenged by low oil and gas prices in Europe and globally. “Israel’s plans to export gas to Turkey should not be affected – it is a local deal in which the US will have a role similar to now, i.e. supporting it,” he said.