The East Mediterranean Is Primed For A Natural Gas Boom

By abbasanwarinfo Last updated Nov 14, 2022

The Eastern Mediterranean could become a “stable source of energy” for the European Union if more money is put into the area because of the recent maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon, says the head of the company that started the latest gas production project.

Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean, told the Financial Times in an interview that came out Monday, “I think there is a lot more gas to be found.”

At the end of October, Energean said that the Karish field off the coast of Israel had produced its first gas. This was just two weeks after Israel and Lebanon made a historic deal to end their long-running dispute over their maritime border.

Energean’s Rigas said last month, “We have delivered a landmark project that brings competition to the Israeli gas market, improves energy supply security in the East Med region, and brings cheap, clean energy that will replace coal-fired power generation, which will have a real impact on the environment.”

The deal between Israel and Lebanon could make it possible to look for more oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, where a lot of gas has been found in recent years. If the dispute is settled, it could lead to more investment in gas supply from a region close to the EU. This could help the bloc diversify its gas supply sources as it works to stop relying on Russian gas by 2027.

Energean’s Rigas told FT that more exploration and investment in the Eastern Mediterranean could make the area a “stable source of energy” for the EU.

According to the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the Karish oil and gas field and the Qanaa prospect will be in Israeli and Lebanese waters, respectively.

A week after the border deal, Lebanon asked the French supermajor TotalEnergies, which had the contract to explore Lebanese waters, to start drilling in Block 9.

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