Lebanon has warned Noble Energy, the natural gas company that recently discovered 3 trillion cubic foot “Tamar 1″ (a natural gas reserve in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel), that working for the “Israeli enemy” will have repercussions. In a region that is already fraught with tensions over religion, ethnicity, water and power, natural gas is a combustible addition to the mix.
Lebanon and Israel have fought several wars in the past, and 2006 saw the breakout of further hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia. This, coupled with the lack of a maritime delimitation agreement between Israel and Lebanon means that the northern end of this gas reserve will almost undoubtedly become a source of further tension between these two neighbours.
Tamar could potentially convert Israel from a fuel-importer to a fuel exporter (though it seems doubtful that OPEC will be sending an invitation to join), as the Tamar gas field is considered to be globally significant:
“This is one of the most significant prospects that we have ever tested, and appears to be the largest discovery in the company’s history,” says Charles Davidson, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Noble Energy, the U.S. partner in the consortium
This discovery comes at an opportune time for Israel, as it had already begun the building of 5 new natural gas power plants for electricity generation, in order to replace existing coal plants and in anticipation of future demand.
Image: Natural Gas via Flickr’s Media Commons
Thank you for posting on this little known issue.