Israel in talks with Egypt, Turkey on major gas export deals
Israel's drive to export its new-found natural gas could help to rebuild strained ties with old regional allies Egypt and Turkey, but could deprive Europe of a precious alternative to Russian gas.
Israel has in recent months already signed energy deals with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, though relations with the Palestinians are at a low ebb, and now needs to expand its export horizons to cash in on its huge energy discoveries.
If all goes well, the latest developments could see first pipelines being laid between Israel and Turkey as soon as 2015, and gas cooperation between Israel and Egypt is also emerging, which would allow export access to Asia's major markets.
A growing population and soaring demand have left Egypt's own liquefied natural gas export (LNG) plants in need of new supply, as domestic shortages eat into seaborne exports through the Suez Canal to the world's most lucrative market in Asia.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-in-talks-with-egypt-turkey-on-major-gas-export-deals.aspx
E. Mediterranean gas work faces geopolitical hurdles
Full development of giant natural gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea depends on solutions to tough geopolitical problems. Groups led by Noble Energy Inc. have found fields off Israel and Cyprus, most of them in ultradeep water, that might contain 40 tcf of natural gas or more. New production promises to keep Israel, where gas demand is growing by as much as 17%/year, self-sufficient for years.
But future development will push gas deliverability beyond the needs of Israel and its immediate neighbors, with which relations are always touchy. Much new supply will have to be exported in some amount, somehow. While proposals for pipelines and LNG schemes have emerged, they all face problems related to economics or international relations—or both.
Strongly influential in the geopolitics of eastern Mediterranean gas development is Turkey, which also has rapidly growing requirements for natural gas as well as a developing role as a bridge for gas flowing between the Caspian Sea and Europe. Also like Israel, the country has dicey relations with some of its neighbors.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-112/issue-4/general-interest/e-mediterranean-gas-work-faces-geopolitical-hurdles.html
