Here's the article:
http://www.economist.com/node/17468208?story_id=17468208
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Huge Gas Find in Israel
Israeli officials found an enormous field of gas about 135 kilometers off of their Mediterranean coast. After being largely unsuccessful in the nineties in their attempts to find oil, Isrealis finally found a decently sized (up to 22 bcm) gas field in 2004. Just this past year, they have found a much larger gas field (up to 453 bcm) now called Leviathan. Leviathan is on the norther edge of Israel's sea border and there has been much dispute over where the border actually is. (Between Israel, Lebanon, and Cyprus.) If Israel can keep hold of this newfound natural resource, they should be able to provide for their own energy needs, and export some gas to countries such as Greece. This would definitely increase Israeli security, and the wells would be completely underwater, manned by robots. This find has huge implications for Israel's international relations, as Greece could provide a jumping board for Israel to provide gas to other countries in the European Union.
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I think it is incredible that Israel has found this reserve, and it is very important for them to have energy security in such a tension ridden country. It does seem that Israel is criticized for just about everything that they do. This criticism includes President Obama even though he campaigned on the fact that he gave full support to Israel. i am curious to find out what people can muster up about this discovery, but hopefully it is as good as it sounds and Israel will be able to harness this energy.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on what Seth pointed out, Israel has a history of having tensions with its Arab neighbors. Israel has historically had many conflicts with its neighboring countries over water rights. Similarly, it interests me how the article says that Israel's new gas reserve find is 135 km out in the Mediterranean Sea. The article also comments on how the reserve would be manned by underwater robots. I wonder if there will be another controversy with the other countries that surround the Mediterranean. This could be a source of controversy for a country that has been defined by such tensions. But, if Israel can extracts this gas without any conflicts, it can help support its own energy needs and sell to its neighbors. I'm surprised that they haven't found more gas, as they are in the Middle East. I'll be interested to see how this reserve is handled.
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