Israel and Cyprus have launched a new push for EU funds to build a pipeline that could bring about 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of their natural gas to Europe annually, and ease the continent\u2019s energy security anxieties.\u00a0 But Palestinians are warning that without a broader resolution of regional disputes, the pipeline risks becoming a source of conflict.<\/p>\n
The Cyprus-centred project could be the world\u2019s longest pipeline if built, stretching up to 1,530km, and passing through depths of up to 3,000m.<\/p>\n
Israel, Greece and Cyprus expect a formal meeting with Sefkovic to discuss ways of actualising the project, on the fringes of an EU energy ministers\u2019 summit on 9 December.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three countries involved intend to raise this issue [on the 9th] as it involves funding from the commission,\u201d an EU diplomat said. Israel, as a non-EU member, will depend on its partner countries\u2019 powers of persuasion.<\/p>\n
With energy diversification and security both rising up Europe\u2019s political agenda, \u201cit looks like the stars have aligned in one position now and that might be good for our timing,\u201d Guy Feldman, an advisor to Shalom told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
But the Palestinian Authority cautioned the EU against signing any contract until territorial gas disputes with neighbouring countries such as Lebanon were resolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe objective of energy security starts with a clear cut boundary of all the gas fields,\u201d said the PA\u2019s energy minister, Omar Kettaneh. \u201cOtherwise instead of being a source of security the pipeline will be a source of conflict.\u201d
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In 2010, the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the Levant Basin, could hold more than 3,455bcm of gas, which is comparable to Iraq\u2019s reserves.<\/p>\n
But until now, political instability has hindered its exploitation, with Israeli and Cypriot claims to overlapping gas fields contested by Lebanon and Turkey, respectively.<\/p>\n
In 2012, Israel, Cyprus and Greece signed a deal to promote exports of their gas to the EU through an eastern Mediterranean corridor.<\/p>\n
The planned offshore pipeline, which diplomats say could transport between 8-15bcm of natural gas annually, has already been selected for \u201cproject of common interest\u201d status by the EU. This potentially gives it access to a \u20ac5.85bn fund, and preferential treatment from multilateral banks.<\/p>\n
A commission timeline estimates that the pipeline could begin pumping gas by 2020, four years after the Leviathan field, which contains around 450bcm of gas comes online.\u00a0 As well as Leviathan, the already operating Tamar field has proven reserves of 283bcm. Israel also has several smaller gas fields and is searching for more exploitable reserves. The country wants to export up to 60% of the gas it produces.<\/p>\n
But Kettaneh said that such words rang hollow in Gaza, which has been prevented from exploiting its own natural gas resources as a result of Israel\u2019s blockade, and internal political divisions.<\/p>\n
Israel and Cyprus have launched a new push for EU funds to build a pipeline that could bring about 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of their natural gas to Europe annually, and ease the continent\u2019s energy security anxieties.\u00a0 But Palestinians … Continue reading ![\"Pipeline?\"](\"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Pipeline.jpg\")
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