Israel Stays Mum as Development Work Begins at Giant Cyprus Gas Field - HAARETZ

Jul 24, 2018 10:49 PM
Ora Coren

Countries have failed to agree on rights of license holders in adjacent Israeli field, but Aphrodite partners begin development anyway

After years of delays, development of Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field is getting under way without any Israeli government role, even though part of Aphrodite’s reservoir lies in Israeli economic waters and is licensed by the government for development.

Critics say Israel’s inaction jeopardizes not only 3 billion shekels ($820 million) in future tax revenues but also its ability to guarantee its stakes in other reservoirs shared with neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“It’s not clear, to say the least, why the government is acting this way, in particular the inexplicable ease with which it could cause a loss of 3 billion shekels in taxes,” said Rony Halman, the chairman of Israel Opportunity, a partner in the Ishai field adjacent to Aphrodite.

“The inaction of the Israeli government also threatens to create a dangerous precedent in connection with other joint reservoirs we have with our neighbors — Lebanon and Egypt,” Halman told TheMarker.

Energy diversification top priority for Turkey, Minister Albayrak says - DAILY SABAH / ANADOLU AGENCY

AA Photo

HOUSTON, TX, 8 March 2018

Turkey's main goal in the energy sector is diversification, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak told a U.S. conference Tuesday.

"More than half of our electricity generation is from gas," he told the IHS CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas. "This can't be sustainable, so we changed this strategy.

"We are aiming to diversify our natural gas portfolio in the following years."

The last 15 years have seen Turkey's GDP rise from $200 billion to more than $800 billion, while public debt to GDP ratio shrunk from 80 percent in 2002 to around 30 percent today.

"You have to invest in energy to meet this growth and your growth targets," Albayrak said.

The OECD is also calling on Israel to implement the gas framework - JERUSALEM POST

Israel Navy missile ship patrols near Tamar gas field‏
(photo credit:MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The organization notes that delaying development of the Leviathan reservoir will lead to a slowdown in development of the smaller gas fields and deter continued exploration.
Last week the OECD published a special report that included the anticipated response to a slew of economic characteristics, such as stability and growth, poverty levels, social gaps, and so on. Under the heading “creating the right conditions for developing an efficient gas market,” the OECD recommends implementing the gas framework drawn up by the government, in order to “guarantee development of the Leviathan reservoir and the development of the infrastructures required in order to create future competition in the gas market.” In other words, the OECD, an organization external to the state, agrees with the government’s actions in connection with the gas framework.