Chevron’s Purchase Could Unlock Israel’s Natural Gas Bonanza - THE NEW YORK TIMES

Oct. 9, 2020
Stanley Reed

Chevron, the American oil giant, wrapped up the acquisition on Monday of a relatively small Houston-based company called Noble Energy, paying about $4 billion.

Until recently, the deal would have been unlikely, if not unthinkable — because what distinguishes Noble is the large natural gas business it has built in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, especially in Israel, an area that major oil companies had until now avoided.

Chevron’s move is the latest milestone in a remarkable shift in perceptions about a relatively new region for the petroleum industry in the eastern Mediterranean. Once a dead sea for the oil industry, this area, reaching from the Nile Delta in Egypt up to Israel and Lebanon and around Cyprus, has come alive with exploration vessels, drilling rigs and production platforms in recent years thanks to a series of large natural gas discoveries.

Israel is Diving Into the Troubled Eastern Mediterranean - BLOOMBERG

July 26, 2020, 8:00 AM GMT+3

Seth J. Frantzman

The Israeli cabinet last week approved a pipeline deal to move gas offshore via Cyprus to Greece and Europe. The 1,900-kilometer (1,181 miles) link will connect gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean basin to European markets. The $6 billion project, many years in the discussion, was boosted in January by an agreement signed in Athens between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Greek and Cypriot counterparts.

The EastMed project puts Israel on a collision course with Turkey. Ankara has laid claim, reinforced with a maritime deal with Libya, to large parts of the Eastern Mediterranean, where it is exploring for gas—and conducting naval exercises. These moves are exacerbating tensions with Greece.

The significance of Israel's natural-gas feat - ISRAEL HAYOM

JANUARY-07-2020 09:13

Alex Traiman

Exports will generate tens of billions of dollars in tax revenues for the government making it just one more successful venture led by the Jewish state’s longest-serving prime minister.
The start of natural-gas flow from the Leviathan rig is a momentous achievement for the State of Israel.

For the first time, a resource-poor country can become an energy superpower. The export of natural gas to immediate neighbors Jordan and Egypt – and later exported via Cyprus and Greece – strengthens Israel’s geopolitical status both in the Middle East as well as the West.

In addition to formal peace alliances and security cooperation, Jordan and Egypt are turning to Israel to provide for their energy needs. In the past, Egypt exported gas to Israel. Israel already supplies Jordan with water. The cooperation is likely to lead further towards normalized ties with other Sunni Gulf states.

Superpowers Are Vying For Power In This New Oil & Gas Frontier - OIL PRICE

Aug 29, 2019, 3:00 PM CDT

Vanand Meliksetian

The Eastern Mediterranean has become a hotbed for tensions between regional and great powers due to the discovery of major energy deposits. The littoral states could potentially earn billions in gas exports while at the same time ensuring a level of energy security, which is rare to the region. However, the on-going activities create a level of complexity, which is an opportunity for countries such as the U.S. and Russia to exert influence.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned of "revisionist powers like Iran, Russia, and China trying to take major footholds in the East and West." The U.S. wishes to create an alliance of countries connected through multilateral interdependence. The backbone of the coalition is to be formed by Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.

The most critical driver for Washington’s assertiveness is Russia’s resurgence as a major force which can project power in the wider region. Moscow's relatively successful policy in the Middle East and its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean through its military intervention in Syria are making the U.S. wary of Russian influence.

Economic interests supersede identity politics in Israel-Lebanon maritime border negotiations - JEWISH NEWS SYNDICATE (JNS)

July 8, 2019

ELIANA RUDEE

Despite reports of difficulty bringing Israel and Lebanon together for maritime negotiations, Eastern Mediterranean policy experts and fellows at the Mitvim Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, Gabriel Mitchell and Ambassador (ret.) Michael Harari, believe that negotiations would be significantly beneficial for both parties.

It was reported last week that Israel and Lebanon were on the verge of launching direct talks, with U.S. mediation attempting to settle their maritime border disputes. Recently nominated U.S. envoy David Satterfield has been conducting shuttle diplomacy between the sides, picking up on efforts that were previously led by the Obama administration.

Disputing an area of 300 square miles of water—an extension of territorial disputes that have existed since 1948, and further became exacerbated in the 1970s and 1980s—the two countries have not engaged in negotiations for more than a decade, as they are still officially at a state of war.

Under the Obama administration, a 55-45 split for Lebanon and Israel of the disputed territory was rejected by Lebanon, and according to Mitchell’s estimate, Israel “will not offer anything better than that in subsequent negotiations.”

Southern European leaders to discuss proposed EastMed pipeline at Med7 Summit - FOREIGN BRIEF

June 14, 2019
Joshua Clarkson

Heads of state from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain convene today in Malta for the sixth South EU Summit.

The group, informally known as the Med7, is expected to focus on energy security at today’s conference.

In January, six European and Middle Eastern leaders committed to creating an Eastern Mediterranean regional gas market. The biggest step, however, is the proposed EastMed pipeline, which would bring Levantine gas deposits to European markets via Cyprus, Greece and Italy. The potential 1,900-kilometre pipeline could satisfy 10% of Europe’s energy demand, diminishing the continent’s dependence on Russian energy.

While the EastMed pipeline is still in the planning stages, it could be a geopolitical boon for the EU. Without reliance on Russian energy, a more united front on Ukraine could be established, and Moscow would have less leverage in negotiations with Brussels.

Lakkotrypis: Cyprus ‘ready for all scenarios’ - KATHIMERINI

15.05.2019 : 18:49
Katerina Sokou

‘We hope that the energy developments in the region, and in Cyprus in particular, will be an incentive for Turkey to return to the negotiating table and help solve the Cyprus problem,’ Yiorgos Lakkotrypis told Kathimerini in an interview.

As Turkey raises the stakes in the Eastern Mediterranean with violations and threats of drilling in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Cypriot minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism notes that “the best response is for us to continue to implement our energy strategy unfettered.”

Indeed, last weekend Yiorgos Lakkotrypis confirmed that the Republic of Cyprus is close to agreement with the Total-ENI joint venture for offshore drilling in another area. In an exclusive interview with Kathimerini, Lakkotrypis focused on the merits of regional partnerships such as the East Med Gas Forum and the role of the European Union and the United States in ensuring stability for investors. As for the Turkish claims, he stressed that Cyprus “is ready for all scenarios” but added that “we need to avoid playing the destabilization game that Turkey is pursuing.”

Offshore Deposits Offer New Horizons for Cyprus - SOUTH EU SUMMIT

May 9 2019

B. Lana Guggenheim

Thanks to new discoveries of offshore natural gas, Cyprus has a real opportunity to expand its reach in the energy market. But to do this, the island-nation needs to navigate tricky geopolitical realities - as well as expand its current infrastructure – or the opportunity may slip away.

Earlier this year, international energy players discovered two more sites rich in natural gas, just offshore of Cyprus, in Blocks 6 and 10, respectively led by Eni and Total on the one hand, and ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, on the other. This follows previous discoveries in the area, starting as early as 2009, when prospectors discovered reserves of natural gas in the Tamar field off the coast of Israel. Subsequently came the discovery of the Leviathan field offshore of Israel, and the Aphrodite and Calypso fields in Cypriot waters. Altogether, these deposits contain an estimated 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – or more.

Currently, both Cyprus and Israel import their energy, but these gas fields have the potential to change all of that, as well as generate revenue via energy exports. Both Europe and Egypt are target markets for this new energy resource, especially as Europe’s demand for natural gas is likely to increase – in part to reduce its reliance on Russia, but also because gas is a cleaner alternative to coal, as the continent slowly transitions to renewable energy sources.

Erdogan Crashes the Mediterranean Gas Party - HAARETZ

May 08, 2019 7:16 PM
David Rosenberg 

Last week Turkey sparked another crisis by starting drilling in Cypriot waters. That’s a problem not just for Cyprus but for Israel, too

Even the most avid Erdogan watcher has to work hard up with all the crises the Turkish leader has wrought. This week the No. 1 crisis was election officials caving in to his demand for new elections in Istanbul. There are also the crisis over Turkey’s buying Russian S-400 missiles, the simmering war in the Syrian province of Idlib and, of course, the collapse of the Turkish economy.

If that isn’t enough, add a crisis largely playing out off center stage, but which deserves a lot more attention. That’s because it threatens to upset all the plans Israel, Egypt and Cyprus have for exploiting the vast natural gas resources of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The latest installment of the gas crisis started last Friday when Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the Turkish seismic research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa would be drilling for oil and gas “in areas of Turkey’s continental shelf.”

So, finally Turkey is joining the East Med gas party? Not exactly. It’s more like crashing the party: The ship is drilling deep inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

US strongly discourages any activity that could escalate tensions - CYPRUS MAIL

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon
with Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis

MAY 3, 2019 

Assistant Secretary for the bureau of energy resources in the US Department of State Francis Fannon has said that the US was strongly discouraging any activity that could escalate tensions in the region.

He was commenting on the Turkish threats over its planned drilling activity within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Energy diplomacy and the new geopolitical landscape in the Eastern Mediterranean, coupled with the transformation of the region into an energy hub, were the topics of the last panel of the EastMed-New York Investment Summit organised by The Economist.

Answering questions, Fannon reiterated the long-standing US position that the US recognises Cyprus`s right to develop its resources within its EEZ and that resources should be distributed fairly within the framework of an overall solution to the Cyprus problem. He added that the US was considering energy as a catalyst for dialogue.

Israel's Natural Gas Discoveries Are Bridging Political Divides And Are Forging Economic Ties - FORBES

Apr 18, 2019, 08:16am
Ken Silverstein

Even more natural gas has been found off Israel’s coastline, which may help shift the global energy paradigm. Greek oil and gas developer Energean has discovered what it says is between 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas, all on top of the 67 billion cubic meters that it has already located.

The discovery comes atop earlier ones a decade ago that are getting tapped and will be eventually distributed to former adversaries of Israel: Jordan and Egypt. And there are also plans to sell the natural gas to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Indeed, if Israel blossoms into a regional energy powerhouse, it could have profound implications for geopolitics — and possibly extend as far as East as Iraq.

Cyprus, Greece, Israel alliance serves US interests - KATHIMERINI

28.03.2019 : 08:20

ENDY ZEMENIDES, DAVID HARRIS

Long ago, the Mediterranean was known as the Middle Sea, because for centuries it provided the principal means of communication between empires and civilizations. Today’s Mediterranean is reclaiming much of that historic legacy.

The limitless potential of the region was on full display during the sixth trilateral summit between Cyprus, Greece and Israel that took place in Jerusalem last week. The gathering was especially noteworthy because the United States, represented by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also participated for the first time.

American strategic interests face challenges around the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The Shia-Sunni divide that has helped put the Middle East in even deeper turmoil is playing out on its shores, with the involvement of both state and non-state actors.

Turkey – once a paragon of stability and a source of great optimism for many in the West – has become increasingly authoritarian and unreliable. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strong-arm leadership has turned a “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy into one where Ankara has zero neighbors with which it doesn’t have problems.

Things Are About to Change: Oil and Gas Have Been Found in the Eastern Mediterranean - THE NATIONAL INTEREST

March 10, 2019

Tony Chavez

Large quantities of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the East Med and the race to extract them has begun. These hydrocarbon finds hold the potential to build regional stability and to bolster the economies of important US allies and partners, all of which is in the interest of the United States. But these discoveries could just as easily stoke further instability and conflict if nations default to historic resentments and if regional powers jockey to monopolize on or block access to this strategic treasure.

Extending from Israel and Egypt in the East and South to Turkey, Greece and Italy in the North and West, the Eastern Mediterranean has long been an economically dynamic and politically important region for the United States and its NATO allies. It is about to become even more important.

Large quantities of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the East Med and the race to extract them has begun. These hydrocarbon finds hold the potential to build regional stability and to bolster the economies of important U.S. allies and partners, all of which is in the interest of the United States. But these discoveries could just as easily stoke further instability and conflict if nations default to historic resentments and if regional powers jockey to monopolize on or block access to this strategic treasure.

Israel's Leviathan Energy Prize: Where Will The Gas Go? - FORBES

Feb 19, 2019, 07:35am
Ariel Cohen

Israel is finally emerging as a natural gas player in the Mediterranean. In the last week of January, the Israeli Navy conducted a complex drill simulating attacks on the country’s offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The exercise included coordinated operations between dozens of naval vessels and aircraft, and even incorporated a live-fire missile test against an abandoned cargo vessel (imitating an enemy transport filled with Hamas or Hezbollah militants). Israel’s week-long “Raging Sea” operation comes on the heels of two joint military drills with Cypriot forces held in November and December – presumably to protect the region’s newest and most valuable energy asset – the Leviathan offshore gas field.

The Leviathan falls almost exclusively in Israeli territorial waters, but neighboring states have demonstrated a mutual interest in seeing the reservoir and surrounding plays developed. Indeed, the vast economic potential of Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbons has galvanized diplomatic and economic ties between Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. In December, the three nations held a trilateral summit in Beersheba, Israel, where they agreed to launch the EastMed pipeline project, a $7 billion endeavor that would see Israeli gas pumped to Greece via Cyprus and Crete at a rate of 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) per annum. Once in Greece, the gas would then connect to the 20 bcm per annum Poseidon pipeline in Italy, and then onward to the rest of Europe.

Beyond Energy: The Significance of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum - INSS

February 3, 2019, INSS Insight No. 1133
Ofir Winter, Gallia Lindenstrauss

The Energy Ministers of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority met in Cairo in mid-January 2019 to discuss the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which will serve as the umbrella for cooperation and dialogue regarding the development of gas resources in the region. While the subject of energy is the basis for the forum, there are also broader geostrategic processes that led to its establishment, and they reflect the regional states’ shared perceptions regarding the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean to their national security. The countries of the region could leverage these processes into additional partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean, beyond the issue of gas resources. However, to serve as a base for long term regional strategic development, the Gas Forum must achieve other objectives: strengthen regional recognition – particularly in Arab countries – of the potential value of cooperative relations in the Eastern Mediterranean that include Israel; increase the human and civic interactions between all peoples of the region; and continue to foster the concept of a shared regional space.

Political cooperation will enhance East Med gas prospects - CYPRUS MAIL

JANUARY 27, 2019
Charles Ellinas

Politicians can’t do much about gas prices but removing political risk from a region certainly makes it more attractive to energy buyers

Commercial viability for gas in the East Med is market driven and not under the control of politicians, but the newly established East Med Gas Forum which includes Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Greece and Cyprus can only contribute to geopolitical cooperation in the region.

The energy ministers and representatives from Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority met in Cairo on January 14 and set up the East Med Gas Forum (EMGF). European Commission and World Bank representatives also attended the meeting as observers.

The forum will be based in Cairo, with the aim to be “an international organisation that respects the rights of members with respect to their natural resources in accordance with the principles of international law, and support their efforts to benefit from their reserves and use of infrastructure”. This also includes “commitment to paving the way for fruitful cooperation in the technical and economic fields, with a view to efficient exploitation of the gas potential in the region”.

EGYPT PULSE Is new energy league an alliance against Ankara? - AL MONITOR

January 24, 2019
Mohamed Saied 

CAIRO — A new eastern Mediterranean alliance that includes Israel is moving to take advantage of the energy-rich region, which has natural gas reserves estimated at 122 trillion cubic feet (3.45 trillion cubic meters). Some observers say the coalition also wants to counter any efforts Turkey might make to control energy sources in the region.

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum announced Jan. 14 that six countries and the Palestinian Authority (PA) had agreed to establish the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), with Cairo as its headquarters. The presidents of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece had held a trilateral summit Oct. 10 on the Greek island of Crete during which they agreed to establish the forum.

Turkey began its first oil and gas exploration off the coast of Antalya by launching the drilling ship Fatih on Oct. 29.

Natural gas fields give Israel a regional political boost - THE WASHINGTON POST / ASSOCIATED PRESS

January 23 at 2:50 AM
Aron Heller

JERUSALEM — A decade after discovering natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast, Israel is starting to feel the geopolitical boost.

Its newfound riches have fostered economic bonds with its neighbors, tightening relations with Arab allies, and built new bridges in a historically hostile region — even without significant progress being made toward peace with the Palestinians.

Last week’s inclusion of Israel into the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in Cairo — a consortium aiming to cut infrastructure costs and lower prices — marked the first time Arab countries accepted Israel into such a regional alliance, sparking excitement in the country that its long-held hope of finally also making “economic peace” with Egypt and Jordan was fast approaching.

“I think this is the most significant economic cooperation between Egypt and Israel since the signing of the peace treaty 40 years ago,” Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told The Associated Press during his visit. “The discovery of significant gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean has also political value because it brings all of us ... together to cooperate with each other.”

Cyprus: US to lift Cyprus arms embargo in security boost - THE REPUBLIC / AP

JAN/18/19 3:26 PM
Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The U.S. will soon start lifting a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus because Washington acknowledges the Mediterranean island nation’s contribution to bolstering regional stability and security, the Cypriot foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that Washington sees the “added value” of allowing Cyprus to acquire military equipment that would help enhance its capabilities to boost regional security.

The embargo was imposed in 1987 with the aim of preventing an arms buildup that would hamper diplomatic efforts to reunify divided Cyprus. The island was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup aimed at union with Greece.

Christodoulides said the process to lift the embargo has been set in motion in the U.S. Congress, reflecting a “positive shift” in that Washington no longer views Cyprus solely as an unsettled conflict of ethnic division.

“This is proof, if you like, of the recognition by the U.S. administration of the positive role that Cyprus plays as a pillar of stability and security in the broader region,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.

New pipeline will weaken Turkish-Israeli relationship - ASIA TIMES

JANUARY 12, 2019 12:35 AM (UTC+8)

Joseph Dana

The relationship between Turkey and Israel has never been an easy one to understand. Since formal relations crystalized in 1949, with Turkey becoming one of the first Muslim-majority countries to recognize Israel, both countries have found themselves at arm’s length with the rest of the Middle East.

By the time Israel sent medics to assist victims of Turkey’s tragic earthquake in 1999, the two countries were sharing military technology and bilateral trade was booming. The relationship then took a sour turn, at least rhetorically. A war of words between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached a fever pitch over the last decade and seemingly threatened the foundations of this unique partnership.

Many observers, however, believed the alliance was never really at risk, due to the sheer amount of trade that moves between the two countries.

But now, all that has changed. The discovery of massive natural gas fields off Israel’s northern coast more than a decade ago and subsequent attempts to export this gas to Europe have highlighted the true fault lines in the Turkish-Israeli alliance. Recent events reveal that a fundamental shift in the alliance is undeniably underway.