{"id":1433134,"date":"2022-04-12T13:01:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433134"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:01:28","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:01:28","slug":"israel-sees-an-opportunity-as-e-u-looks-for-alternatives-to-russia-energy-supplies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-sees-an-opportunity-as-e-u-looks-for-alternatives-to-russia-energy-supplies\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Sees an Opportunity as E.U. Looks for Alternatives to Russia Energy Supplies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fisrael-sees-an-opportunity-as-e-u-looks-for-alternatives-to-russia-energy-supplies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433134&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Jerusalem (AFP) \u2013 As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel because of the Ukraine invasion, Israel hopes to help fill the gap with gas from its offshore reserves.<\/p>\n<p>EU states remain divided on the time scale, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc hopes to phase out its dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal by 2027.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Israel could build one or more pipelines, potentially via Greece or Turkey, or increase the quantity of gas piped to Egypt to be liquified and shipped off, say officials and experts.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said after a recent visit to Athens that \u201cthe war in Ukraine stands to change the structure of the European and Middle Eastern energy market\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are also examining additional economic cooperation, with an emphasis on the energy market.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The Jewish state has worked for years to create gas export routes, with mixed results so far.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20623997\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1191103531.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-20623997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1191103531-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>File\/The platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea\u00a0 is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal city of Dor on December 31, 2019. \u2013 (\u00a0JACK GUEZ\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Turkey, whose ties with Israel have recently thawed after over a decade of rupture, has expressed new interest in a pipeline, and its energy minister is expected in Israel in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>During the years of diplomatic alienation from Turkey, Israel signed an accord with Greece and Cyprus in 2020 aiming to build the EastMed pipeline through those two countries from Israel to Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey opposed the project, and a senior US diplomat said last week it would be too expensive and take too long to build.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Energy Minister Karine Elharrar also hailed the potential for gas sales to Europe, telling the French Association of Defence Journalists that \u201cwe have the ability and we will try to do as much as we can\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Regional alliances<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>With both Greece and its regional rival Turkey vying to be the conduit for the gas, Israel would have to tread carefully amid the regional alliances it wishes to uphold and strengthen.<\/p>\n<p>Major gas finds in the eastern Mediterranean \u2014 nearly 1,000 billion cubic meters (bcm) \u2014 have in the past decade turned Israel from a natural gas importer into an exporter.<\/p>\n<p>It now sells small quantities from its two major offshore fields, Leviathan and Tamar, to Egypt and Jordan.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Israel\u2019s domestic consumption over the next three decades would leave some 600 bcm available for export, said opposition lawmaker Yuval Steinitz, Israel\u2019s energy minister until last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2016 the pipeline to Turkey was examined, including with Turkey and commercial companies,\u201d said Orit Ganor, director of natural gas international trade at Israel\u2019s energy ministry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe project didn\u2019t reach fruition mainly due to economic reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ganor said \u201cthe EastMed pipeline is still an option, and the company advancing it, Poseidon, is in the final stages of geophysical and geotechnical surveys of the pipe\u2019s route in our waters and those of Greece and Cyprus\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>No financing has been secured for the project, which Steinitz said would cost about $6 billion and take around four years to complete.<\/p>\n<p>He said there was also agreement with Cairo on a seabed pipeline from Leviathan to Egypt\u2019s liquification plants that would allow for greater exports to Europe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Catch-22\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s Leviathan field, which would be the source for European exports, is operated by an Israeli-American consortium including NewMed Energy and US major Chevron.<\/p>\n<p>NewMed Energy CEO Yossi Abu recently stated his ambition of \u201cbringing Israeli gas to Europe and Asia\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say Israel\u2019s current gas fields represent a third of potential reserves, but a means to sell future finds would be needed to encourage further exploration by private companies.<\/p>\n<p>The state of Israel provides exploitation licenses and regulatory support, but does not drill for gas or build pipelines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a \u2018Catch-22\u2019 here,\u201d said Elai Rettig, a political scientist at Tel Aviv\u2019s Bar-Ilan university.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need to find a customer that will agree to pay for this very, very expensive pipeline, and they won\u2019t do it until you show them you\u2019ve found enough gas to justify it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20624015\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1091889486.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-20624015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1091889486-1024x683-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>File\/This picture taken on January 31, 2019 shows a view of the SSCV Thialf crane vessel as it lays the newly-arrived foundation platform (unseen) for the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, about 130 kilometres (81 miles) west of the coast of the Israeli city of Haifa. (MARC ISRAEL SELLEM\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnd you won\u2019t find enough gas to justify it until you show that there\u2019s someone to sell the gas to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Europe\u2019s efforts to diversify gas imports began before the Ukraine war when it \u201cexperienced harsh weather and gas prices rose significantly,\u201d said Ganor, the energy ministry official.<\/p>\n<p>Steinitz said a pipeline to Turkey would cost $1.5 billion and take two to three years to build.<\/p>\n<p>Israel \u201ccould definitely be a serious factor in creating more independence and a wealth of energy sources for Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He said Israel could even export via Greece, Turkey and Egypt at the same time because \u201cwe have enough gas to export through the three channels\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Rettig stressed Israel\u2019s need for \u201cbalance\u201d between Turkey and Greece and to \u201ccontinuously talk to both sides and to reassure them that one doesn\u2019t come at the expense of the other\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jerusalem (AFP) \u2013 As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel because of the Ukraine invasion, Israel hopes to help fill the gap with gas from its offshore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}