Elharrar vows involvement if Israel-Cyprus gas field dispute unresolved - THE JERUSALEM POST

FEBRUARY 6, 2022 17:15

If the Israeli and Cypriot companies licensed to develop the Aphrodite-Yishai gas field do not reach an agreement on the matter by March 4, the state will get involved, Energy Minister Karin Elharrar said last week in a letter to Nammax Oil and Gas Ltd.

“Israel never gave up on its rights to the Yishai Reservoir, including the demand that the reservoir not be opened unilaterally... This stance has been made clear to all sides a number of times on different occasions,” she wrote in response to a letter from Herzliya-based Nammax, which, together with Israel Opportunity, holds the license to operate the field.

Israel and Cyprus have been involved in a years-long dispute over the development of the gas field in the Mediterranean. About 10% of the Aphrodite-Yishai gas field is in Israel’s exclusive economic zone, and the rest belongs to Cyprus. The two countries agreed in 2010 to develop it together.

The Energy Ministry estimates the Israeli part of Aphrodite-Yishai has 10 billion to 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas, much less than the Leviathan gas field, which has an estimated 605 bcm.

After Cyprus moved toward developing Aphrodite, the Energy Ministry under former minister Yuval Steinitz agreed with its Cypriot counterpart last March that the companies involved would negotiate and reach an agreement within a year.

Winners and losers as energy minister halts gas exploration - THE JERUSALEM POST / GLOBES

DECEMBER 17, 2021
Guy Lieberman

The announcement by Energy Minister Karin Elharrar yesterday that her ministry will not award licenses for natural gas exploration in Israel's Economic Zone in 2022 set off a storm. 

Her predecessor at the ministry, Yuval Steinitz, rushed to react on Twitter, calling on her to "reconsider" the decision, and claiming that "in the green USA of President Biden they are continuing to explore for natural gas in hundreds of areas on land and offshore, as they are in Canada and in most countries of Western Europe."

The Association of Oil and Gas Exploration Industries in Israel was also quick to react, and pointed to the energy crisis in Europe as an example of the need "to continue exploring for further discoveries of natural gas."

Elharrar responded that it was a matter of "one year only", during which her ministry will devote its attention to the most important need at this time, which is renewable energy. In her announcement, the minister stated that her ministry was forming a new department to deal with renewable energy.

Gas ‘breakthrough’ could see movement in months - CYPRUS MAIL

March 14, 2021

Elias Hazou

After nine years, an agreement was reached this week to move forward gas sharing between Israel and Cyprus as a field straddles the borders. But how long will it take to get off the ground?

Following nine years of stop-start talks, the understanding reached earlier this week between Cyprus and Israel over developing the Aphrodite gas field was hailed as a ‘breakthrough’. Given so much time has elapsed, the standard political pageantry surrounding the news was perhaps understandably greeted with a fair amount of skepticism. But analysts do gauge the development as positive, and one that removes an unnecessary thorn in relations between the two countries.

The Aphrodite-Yishai field is a cross-border natural gas reservoir, but the two governments have been unable to reach an agreement on the fine print of its commercial exploitation.

The Aphrodite field holds an estimated 4.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. At stake was about 10 per cent of the deposit.

Israel, Cyprus and Greece agree to link power grids via subsea cable - REUTERS

MARCH 8, 20212:27 PM

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cyprus, Greece and Israel on Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world’s longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link their electricity grids.

The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, will provide a back-up power source in times of emergency, said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who was in Nicosia to sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterparts.

Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said it marked “a decisive step towards ending the island’s energy isolation, and consequently, our dependence on heavy fuels.”

The cable will have a capacity of 1,000-2,000 megawatts (MW) and is expected to be completed by 2024, according to Israel’s energy ministry.

The EastMed Pipeline is a win-win for Israel, Cyprus and Greece - THE JERUSALEM POST

JANUARY 30, 2021 20:37
Michael Harari

In recent years, the Eastern Mediterranean has stood out as a distinct sub-region, receiving wide attention in the regional and international arena – politically, strategically and economically.

The discovery of natural gas in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Israel, Cyprus and Egypt, and the clear potential for the discovery of additional gas fields in the economic waters of other countries such as Lebanon, were a major catalyst for the development of new regional architecture on the one hand, and of rising tension between part of the countries involved on the other.

The bilateral relationship between Israel and Cyprus, which has become very close in the last decade, has in many ways been a cornerstone of the regional alliances that have been woven in recent years.

The Regional Gas Forum, established two years ago in Cairo and which consists of seven members, is a fascinating illustration of the common interests formed in the region. These are Egypt, Israel, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Cyprus and the Palestinian Authority. Israel is rightly entitled to observe these developments with great satisfaction.

Steinitz: Gas development after Israel-Lebanon talks critical for Beirut - THE JERUSALEM POST

OCTOBER 1, 2020 20:52

Lahav Harkov

The coronavirus pandemic has not stopped Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz from having a major international footprint.

In one week, Steinitz and his Egyptian counterpart established a new international organization dedicated to regional natural-gas developments, the minister spoke with two of his counterparts in the United Arab Emirates for the first time and negotiated the terms for starting maritime border talks with Lebanon, which were officially finalized on Thursday.

“In the coming period we will have negotiations directly mediated by the US, so that once and for all we can sum up the historic dispute over the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon,” Steinitz told The Jerusalem Post. It will be the first direct negotiations between the countries in 30 years.

Cyprus parliament ratifies EastMed pipeline agreement - KATHIMERINI

FRIDAY JULY 17, 2020, 16:08

Cyprus’ House of Representatives ratified on Friday the EastMed natural gas pipeline.

The agreement, which was ratified by legislators with 47 votes in favor and two abstentions, provides for the construction of a system of pipelines for the transport of natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to supply European markets.

The intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the EastMed natural gas pipeline was signed on January 2 in Athens between Greek Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hadzidakis, Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steiniz.

Italy fully backs EastMed - KATHIMERINI

01.JAN.2020 : 15:26

On Thursday, Cyprus, Greece and Israel will sign, in Athens, an Intergovernmental Agreement on building the EastMed natural gas pipeline, and Italy's Minister for Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli, whose portfolio includes Energy, has sent a letter of support for the project to his Greek counterpart, Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

“I would like to express my warmest wishes for the success of the initiative, which Italy continues to support in the framework of the European Projects of Common Interest,” Patuanelli mentions in his letter.

The agreement will be signed by Hatzidakis and his counterparts from Cyprus, Giorgos Lakkotrypis, and Israel, Yuval Steinitz. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the Prime Ministers of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will attend the signing ceremony.

Egypt to begin gas imports from Israel by mid-January 2020 - REUTERS

DECEMBER 22, 2019 / 12:46 PM

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Egypt will begin importing natural gas from Israel by mid-January 2020, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio on Sunday.

“(The exports) will begin in the middle of next month and perhaps even earlier,” he said.

Israeli gas exports to Egypt will gradually reach 7 billion cubic meters, a senior industry source, who earlier in the day disclosed a mid-January starting date, said on condition of anonymity.

Steinitz said Egyptian petroleum minister Tarek El Molla had spoken to him two days ago and congratulated him on signing export permits for the gas.

Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings reached a landmark deal last year with the Israeli companies operating the Israeli fields Leviathan and Tamar.

Energean to supply natural gas worth over $1b. to Alon Tavor power plant - THE JERUSALEM POST

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 17:46 

EYTAN HALON

British-Greek oil and gas producer Energean will supply natural gas worth more than $1 billion to Israel’s Alon Tavor power plant over the next 15 years, the company said on Thursday.

Under an agreement signed with Chinese-Israeli company MRC Alon Tavor Power, the owners of the plant near Afula, Energean will supply approximately 0.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year, or up to 8 bcm over the term of the contract.

“Energean is pleased to be the supplier of natural gas to the Alon Tavor power plant, which is of strategic importance for Israel’s energy and electricity market,” said Energean CEO Mathios Rigas. “The agreement signed today represents a first step toward a long-term collaboration – and joins a long list of natural gas supply agreements from the Karish reservoir to the Israeli market as soon as 2021.”

Supply will commence with the first gas extracted from the Karish gas reservoir offshore Israel, owned and operated by Energean.

Production platform for Leviathan, Israel’s largest gas field, to arrive in days - THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 : 2:17 pm

SHOSHANNA SOLOMON

The production platform for the massive Leviathan natural gas field will be arriving in Israel within days, ahead of the start of production for the nation’s largest energy project later this year.

The production decks, comprising five units, are expected to arrive off the Israeli coast in the coming days on four barges, the partners in the field said on Wednesday.


A large offshore crane vessel — the world’s largest — will also be arriving to install the topside decks of the Leviathan platform, which will be set up 10 kilometers off the coast, at a water depth of 86 meters.

The topside decks are the surface decks of the platform, including all the equipment for drilling, production and processing, a helipad, work areas, and living quarters for those who will work on the rig. Setting up the decks will take some four weeks, the statement said.

US-Greece-Cyprus-Israel want oil, gas as much East Med peace - NEW EUROPE

AUGUST 13, 2019 - 16:32

ATHENS – Meeting in Athens, the energy ministers of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel – Kostas Hatzidakis, Georgios Lakkotrypis, and Yuval Steinitz, as well as US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Frank Fannon – have discussed their cooperation in the field of energy, while affirming their shared commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The four met in Athens on 7 August and agreed to establish a High-Level Working Group (HLWG) that will highlight specific energy projects and propose ways of promoting their implementation.

“The ministers and the United States agreed to support their countries’ energy independence and the establishment of an Energy Corridor of the Eastern Mediterranean, contributing thus to the energy security of the European Union by actively promoting the diversification of import sources and routes,” the US Department of State said in a statement.

JOINT STATEMENT following the Ministerial meeting between Greece-Cyprus-Israel and the United States Regarding cooperation in the field of Energy - MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY, GREECE

Athens, August 7th, 2019

The Energy Ministers of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Kostas Hatzidakis, the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Georgios Lakkotrypis, the State of Israel, Mr. Yuval Steinitz, and the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources of the United States of America, Mr. Francis Fannon, met today in Athens regarding cooperation in the field of energy, while affirming their shared commitment to promote peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Mr. Fannon underlined the increasing and tangible support of the US government for the establishment of a structured quadrilateral mechanism for cooperation that focuses on energy matters.

The Ministers and the United States identified several significant areas of common interest, including, inter alia, infrastructure projects, renewable energy and energy storage, emergency preparedness, environmental protection and cyber security, while agreeing to establish a High Level Working Group (HLWG) that will highlight specific energy projects and propose ways of promoting their implementation. The Ministers have agreed to work towards signing an agreement for a joint emergency preparedness and response mechanism for offshore oil and gas operations. The HLWG will report its progress to the Ministers of Energy on a regular basis.

Energy ministers to meet in Athens - KATHIMERINI

MONDAY AUGUST 5, 2019 : 21:02

Greece is hosting officials from Cyprus, Israel and the United States at a ministerial meeting on energy issues on Wednesday.

Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Cyprus’ Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Georgios Lakkotrypis, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and US Assistant Secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon will meet at the Hilton Athens to discuss areas of potential cooperation and to advance construction of the EastMed natural gas pipeline.

The officials plan to set up a working committee of high-level officials to identify specific cooperation projects and ways to implement them.

Israel, Egypt mull Sinai LNG plant for Asian exports - GLOBES

28 Jul, 2019 18:40
Amiram Barkat

Building such a facility on the Red Sea shore for liquid natural gas exports would cost $10-15 billion.

Egypt and Israel are considering construction of a liquefaction facility on the shores of the Red Sea in Sinai through which natural gas can be exported to markets in Asia, sources inform "Globes." The initiative is similar to the one previously promoted by Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. (EAPC), which wanted the facility to be in Israeli territory near Eilat. The idea was shelved due to strong opposition, among other things by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

This time, the idea is to construct the facility on the Egyptian side of the border, which will make it possible to overcome the opposition to the huge project. In Egypt, the ability to delay such projects for environmental reasons is much more limited. Furthermore, a liquefaction project on Egyptian territory can provide jobs for thousands of Egyptians during the construction stage and hundreds more during the operational stage.

Building the facility on the Red Sea is designed to open the option of exporting Israeli and Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the East Asian market: India, China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, which constitute 70% of the global liquefied gas market. The cost of building a medium-sized land-based liquefaction facility is projected in the $10-15 billion range.

Eastern Med countries agree to move ahead with gas forum - THE ARAB WEEKLY

Saturday 27/JULY/2019

CAIRO - Energy ministers from the founding countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum agreed to complete the basic structure of the group and enhance cooperation to promote the exploitation of natural gas reserves in the region.

During a meeting July 25 in Cairo, energy ministers of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Palestinian territories and a representative of the energy minister of Jordan said they would form a committee to elevate the forum to the level of an international organisation that respects the rights of its members to their natural resources.

The meeting of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) founders was almost six months after the forum was declared. EMGF is a new player on the international natural gas scene, deriving its force from numerous gas finds in the region in recent years.

The forum is an expression of the changing face of the region, in which political and military rivalries and animosities are overshadowed by economic interests, even as some regional countries, including Turkey, Lebanon and Syria, are yet to join.

Israel to begin gas exports to Egypt within four months: Minister - AL ARABIYA / REUTERS

Wednesday, 24 July 2019, KSA 14:11 - GMT 11:11

Israel will begin natural gas exports to Egypt within four months, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters on Wednesday.

He also said that a deal to buy stakes in the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s pipeline between the two countries will be completed “within weeks” and that more connections could be built between them.

Steinitz also said that more economic pressure should be applied on Iran, and that it “must be stopped.”

US to participate in East Med energy summit - KATHIMERINI

WEDNESDAY JULY 17, 2019 - 14:56

ANDREAS PARASCHOS

The United States will join Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Egypt at a summit on July 29 to discuss East Med energy cooperation.

At an Economist conference in Greece it was announced that United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon will participate in the East Med energy summit in Athens, if diplomatic schedule allows, along with the energy ministers from Cyprus Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Greece's Costis Hatzidakis and Israel's Yuval Steinitz.

The Greek energy minister underlined the importance placed by the new government on the Eastern Mediterranean energy issues. The first step of discussions will take place on the weekend of July 24-25 at the East Med Gas Forum to be held in Cairo. This forum will include delegates from Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and the Palestinian authority.

Lakkotrypis said that it is important that “Ankara accepts to start the discussions on demarcation of maritime zones parallel to the process of resolving the Cyprus problem.”

Two bid in Israel's offshore energy licenses tender - GLOBES

15 Jul, 2019 15:50
Amiram Barkat

The Ministry of Energy received only two bids from consortia including from UK companies Cairn and Soco, even though energy majors like ExxonMobil purchased tender documents.

As part of the second round of competitive bids for Israel's offshore natural gas and oil licenses tenders, only two offers have been received from consortia comprising Israeli and international companies.

The two bids were from: a consortium of Israeli company Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) and two British companies Cairn Energy plc (LSE: CNE) and Soco International plc . (LSE: SIA): and a consortium of Energean Oil & Gas plc (LSE: ENOG; TASE: ENOG) and Israel opportunity.

Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz said, "The arrival of additional European companies to Israel as well as the soon to be connected up Leviathan rig and continued development of the Karish-Tanin fields will lead to the dismantling of the monopoly and strengthening competition in this sector. We are continuing to work to make Israel into a regional energy power."

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.”