Massive gas finds in East Mediterranean sparks a partnership between Israel, Palestine and rival nations
On Jan. 14, 2019, a group of countries met in Cairo. The buzzing city had hosted many international events in the past, but this one had a special twist. For the first time ever, the Cypriot, Egyptian, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Jordanian and Palestinian Ministers of Energy met to discuss the establishment of the East Med Gas Forum, a platform for energy collaboration and partnership that could eventually take the form of an international organization.
Discoveries of natural gas are not uncommon in the Eastern Mediterranean basin. As a matter of fact, there have been plenty over the past few decades, albeit confined close to the Nile Delta. The"Tamar" discovery offshore Israel in 2009 changed the scene and initiated the emergence of what some geologists call the Nile Delta Cone, a vast area extending northeast and northwest of the river's banks. And it appears the Nile has been pretty busy over the past few million years.
Naturally, most of the gas discovered so far has gone toward domestic or regional consumption. Even so, around a quarter of these discoveries, primarily in Cyprus and Israel, are earmarked for exports. A number of options are currently under consideration. Certainly, utilizing existing infrastructure capacity in the region, like LNG plants in Egypt or the Arab Gas Pipeline, is high on the priority list. At the same time, new infrastructure is also being examined, such as the EastMed Pipeline that would cross Israel and Cyprus into Greece and Italy in deep waters; new LNG plants to add to the region's capacity, and new technologies, such as floating LNG or compressed natural gas.
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