A regional forum meeting led to an agreement to lay the longest undersea electricity cable in the world, and a plan to resolve a conflict with Cyprus over an underwater natural gas well.-
By ZEV STUB, Jerusalem Post
An agreement to lay the longest undersea electricity cable in the world, and a plan to resolve a conflict with Cyprus over a controversial underwater natural gas well, are two developments that came out of this week’s East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) meeting, it’s first since before the start of the pandemic.
The confirmation of Israel as a central player in the forum, which has Arab and European members, is a significant development, said Gabriel Mitchell, director of external relations for the Mitvim Institute and expert on energy and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In the first agreement, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, together with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to lay a 1,500-kilometer cable to link the electricity grids of the three countries and connect Israel to the European grid.
The cable will run up to 2,700 meters below sea level, with a throughput of 1,000-2,000 megawatts. The project is planned for completion by 2024 and is expected to cost about NIS 3 billion, with the funding shared by the three countries and the European Union.
Israel won’t rely on the cable for its general electricity supply, but the link to the European electricity grid could be used in emergencies, Mitchell explained.
While an MoU is nonbinding, the agreement, which has been some 10 years in the making, is a very positive development, he said.
Steinitz also signed an agreement with Cyprus Energy Minister Natasa Pilides regarding the Aphrodite and Yishai natural gas reservoirs, which straddle the maritime border between the two countries.
According to international law, when a gas field rests on both sides of a boundary, the two parties are required to negotiate with each other as to what percentage of the discovery will go to each side, Mitchell explained. For more than a decade, the two sides have been at loggerheads about how to how to resolve the issue.
“Neither side really wanted to talk about it publicly,” Mitchell said. “It was clearly a sticking point, not large enough to risk ruining diplomatic relations, but both parties wanted to move forward. So they kicked the problem over to the development companies, who will probably be able to reach a decision much quicker than the states involved.”
Under the agreement, the Israeli and Cypriot gas companies will meet to negotiate what portion of the gas reserves are allotted to each country. If they do not reach an agreement within 180 days, the matter will be referred to an international expert, who will have 180 days to present an opinion. Either arrangement would require government ratification from both countries.
The Aphrodite gas field in Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone borders the Yishai gas field located in Israeli territorial waters. The Energy Ministry estimates that the Israeli part of the reservoir contains 10-12 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It’s much smaller than the Leviathan gas field, which has an estimated 605 bcm, but it could still net about NIS 5b. in royalties and taxes, a report last year found.
In addition to Israel, Cyprus and Greece, the EMGF also includes Egypt, Italy, Jordan, France and the Palestinian Authority. The United States and European Union have permanent observer status, but the PA this week vetoed a move to also afford member status to the United Arab Emirates.
