How Israel is using its newfound gas wealth to shape diplomatic relations in the region
The late Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, was well known for her remarkable wit. There are pages and news stories dedicated to her words. But one quote stands out in the current context. : “Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through a desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil.”
Technically speaking, the 950 BCM quantity is what’s known as the 2P reserves — the proven and probable amounts. The actual quantity that can be economically pumped out comes to around 480 BCM. Some are hailing it as Europe’s answer to reduce dependency on natural gas imports from Russia. The European Union meets 40 percent of its natural gas requirements with imports from Russia. But differences over Ukraine and Crimea have raised concerns about the EU’s energy security.
But there’s more to this so-called gas diplomacy than a pipeline that exists on paper. Since hitting large finds in the last decade, Israel has grown closer to Cyprus and Greece — to the annoyance of its long-term ally Turkey. In the last couple of years, Turkey has ramped up efforts to search for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has sent drilling rigs off the coast of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .
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