|
Trending Topics
|
Israel Weighs Options as a Gas Exporter
(Economist-UK) Even by conservative estimates, the gas fields discovered off Israel's Mediterranean coast since 2009 hold enough energy to meet its domestic needs for 40 years, and the government hopes to sell the excess abroad. Jordan has already signed a deal to buy some. In April, Israel signed a preliminary agreement to build an undersea pipeline directly to Europe via Cyprus, Greece and Italy. But there may be a better solution next door in Egypt. Egypt is itself poised to become a major gas producer: the Zohr field, discovered off its coast in 2015, holds the largest reserves in the Mediterranean. But even that find may not be enough to meet Egypt's booming demand. Egypt has two liquefaction terminals which allow natural gas to be loaded onto tankers and shipped round the world. Both have sat idle for the past five years, but they could soon ramp up again, giving Israel access to European ports. Egypt could import the gas via Jordan.