Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
It's not going to be easy for Israel to break into any of the gas markets in regions surrounding it, Jim Krane, Middle East energy analyst, Rice University's Baker Institute, Houston, told Trend Oct.31.
Israel's own actions undermined its prospects for trading with the region when it launched a legal challenge to the terms of the gas production contract after the discovery of Leviathan gas field, he said.
The development of Leviathan and further expansion of Tamar gas field were put on hold by the principal license holder, Noble Energy of Houston, after the Israeli antitrust commissioner backed out of a deal under which Noble and its Israeli partner, Delek company, would sell off their interests in smaller undeveloped fields to avoid being labeled monopolists.
The reason is that the Israeli regulatory framework foresees the establishment of a competitive gas market, and upon this the anti-trust commissioner has the authority to block any trade agreement perceived as violating competition laws.
“In the meantime, Egypt has seized the initiative with its own mega-field,” said Krane. “Egypt's big discovery last year of the Zohr field has undermined Israeli hopes for exports to Egypt or use of spare Egyptian liquefaction capacity.”
Zohr field also reduces Israeli prospects for "gas diplomacy" with its gas-short neighbors, according to Krane.
Earlier, senior officials from Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Israel agreed to advance talks on a pipeline from Israel to Europe after an EU-sponsored study showed the project would be very feasible.
The study showed the pipeline, which would traverse Cyprus and Greece before reaching Italy, would cost about 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion).
A pipeline to Greece would have to go deep underwater and would be the world’s longest undersea connection, said Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
He said that the idea of exporting gas to Turkey, with which Israel has held talks about a pipeline, is also still on the table.
“This would not be instead of Turkey,” he said. “I’ve always said we need at least two pipelines.”