Israel drills for disputed gas amid Europe-Russian energy crisis, fuels Lebanon’s anger

In a move described as “provocative” by Lebanon, Israeli has sent a gas drilling vessel to a disputed area at the exclusive economic zone (EZZ) in the eastern Mediterranean, where the two neighbors are still at odds over demarcating their maritime borders.

The London-based company ENERGEAN POWER announced on June 6 that its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel arrived via the Suez Canal, where it remained for 26 hours as was announced by the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority on June 3, to the Mediterranean to start installing its equipment and operation in the sales gas pipeline in the disputed Karish field.

Israel’s move to dispatch the vessel took place ahead of signing an imminent contract between Egypt, Israel and Europe, as some European countries are planning to halt the use of Russian gas and have already headed to potential exporters in the Middle East like Egypt and Israel.  In an interview with Al Ahram Online on June 3, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said that a tripartite agreement is set to be signed in few days to sell Israeli gas to Europe after being liquified in Egypt.

Due to the energy crisis between Russia and Europe over the war in Ukraine, Europe was forced to draw its attention to other countries as a substitute in order to help meet its gas needs, Egyptian maritime expert Amr Kataya told Jusoor Post. He added that regarding the new cooperation between Israel and Egypt in the gas field, Israel and Europe resorted to Egypt because it became an energy hub and has the gas production infrastructure, saying, “Israel headed for cooperating with Egypt because Israel found it is quite costly when it comes to gas production, and for security issues.” 

So, the arrival of ENERGEAN’s FPSO vessel to the disputed area raises questions about Israel’s intentions in securing gas, of which Europe eyes to get 17 billion cubic feet, as was stated by Várhelyi. 

‘Provocative action’

The vessel’s move fueled Lebanon’s anger. “The Israeli enemy's attempts to create a new crisis by encroaching on Lebanon's water wealth and imposing a fait accompli in a disputed region in which Lebanon adheres to its rights is extremely dangerous and would cause tensions,” said Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Mikati, adding that “no one can predict its repercussions.”

In an accelerated move to “prevent any escalation” in the region, Lebanon called for resuming the US-mediated talks between both sides, as it invited US mediator Amos Hochstein to Beirut on Monday to resume the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations that have been suspended since November 2020 on maritime demarcation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, announced Mikati’s office in a statement.

The invitation aims at finalizing the negotiations on the disputed Karish gas field in the Mediterranean, the statement said, adding that the government also embarked on conducting a series of diplomatic moves to “affirm Lebanon's adherence to its marine rights and wealth.”

“Any exploration, drilling or extraction by Israel in the disputed areas constitutes a provocation and an act of aggression that threatens international peace and security and obstructs negotiations,” the statement read.

However, the Presidential Palace received official information from the Army confirming that the ship had docked at a point located a little far from the disputed area (before Line 29 or Block 9), Al Manar newspaper reported Monday.

The disputed line

As per a letter sent to the United Nations on January 1, Lebanon declared that the Karish field is a disputed area, saying that it has the right to the maritime border from Line 23 to Line 29, with an area of 2,290 square kilometers. It called for adjusting the 2011 Decree No. 6433, per which it determined its territorial water and exclusive economic zone (EZZ). 

“The area between Lines 1 and 23 to the area between Lines 23 and 29, with an increase of 1,430 square km in addition to the previous 860 square km, is the disputed area, including the Karish gas field,” the letter said, as translated by Arab News, on February 5, 2020.

The letter also relinquishes “the principle of a gas field in exchange for a gas field,” with the Qana gas field for Lebanon and Karish for Israel. However, the 2020 adjustment said that the Karish gas field is a disputed area. 

In October 2020, the Lebanese and Israeli sides started their indirect talks with US brokerage and the supervision of the United Nations.  The explored gas in this disputed area would tremendously solve Lebanon’s electricity problem that forced the electricity station to shut down due to running out the fuel in October 2021. As a result, the French company Total also suspended its gas exploring for Lebanon in Block 9 until reaching a final agreement on the delineation of borders, Lebanese newspaper Al Markazia reported on January 9, 2022. 

However, the new amendment to the decree has not been ratified by Lebanese President Michel Aoun yet.

That is why some of the newly-elected lawmakers called for accelerating the ratification of the amendments to the decree. “The delay in rectifying matters loses Lebanon's ability to benefit from its wealth […] everyone who caused negligence must be held accountable,” said MP Ghiath Yazb, a member of the Strong Republic bloc, in comments to VDL news on Tuesday.

Also, to avoid escalating the matter into a military conflict, the government resorted to US mediation again, amid Hezbollah's threat of a possible military response. After the arrival of the drilling ship in the Mediterranean, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem warned that the movement is ready to take any action against Israel “if the government confirmed that Israel violates the state’s maritime rights,” Hezbollah’s Al Manaar TV reported on Monday.