Page 6 - MEOG Week 43

MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG

Israel pens deal to bring UAE crude to Europe

ISRAEL/UAE ISRAELI pipeline firm EAPC announced on Petromal, a unit of Abu Dhabi-based National
October 20 it had signed a preliminary deal Holding, Israel’s AF Entrepreneurship and Lub-
to bring UAE oil to Europe, in another sign ber Line, an international energy and infrastruc-
of improving ties between the two former ture developer.
adversaries. “There is no doubt that this agreement is
The oil would flow through a 254-km pipe- of high importance to the Israeli market, both
line linking the Red Sea city of Eilat with the economically and strategically, with joint invest-
Mediterranean port of Ashkelon. The deal, if ments extending a decade into the future,” EAPC
finalised, would represent the biggest energy chairman Erez Halfon said.
partnership between Israel and the UAE since Under the deal, EAPC will be in charge of
they normalised their relationship. storing and transmitting the oil.
EACP signed the memorandum of under- The pipeline agreement comes after Israel
standing (MoU) with MED-RED Land Bridge, reached a landmark peace deal with the UAE
a company with both Israeli and Emirati own- last month, as well as another one with Bah-
ers, during a ceremony with visiting US Treas- rain. They were only the third and fourth such
ury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Washington has deals Israel has reached with Arab states since it
played an instrumental role in bringing Israel declared its independence in 1948. Agreements
and its Arab neighbours closer together. were earlier made with Egypt and Jordan.
Besides shipping UAE crude, the two sides Israeli-Arab relations have dramatically
hope to use their “land bridge” to ship oil back changed over recent years, amid shared concerns
and forth between other countries. It will save about Iran and its efforts to expand Shia influ-
time, fuel and expenses compared to using the ence in the region. Tehran has also worsened ties
Suez Canal, and will provide Asian consumers with some of its neighbours through its support
with easier access to oil produced in the Medi- for Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
terranean and Black Sea regions. Israel and the UAE recently signed an agree-
“MED-RED is in advanced negotiations with ment with the US on energy sector co-opera-
major players in the East for long-term service tion, including the fields of renewable energy,
agreements,” EAPC said. The company did not energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and
say how much the project would cost, but said it related technologies, and water desalination
was “likely to increase the transferred quantities technologies.
by tens of millions of tonnes per year.” Meanwhile, Israel has also agreed to begin
The UAE ships the bulk of its oil to Asia. The talks with Lebanon on ending a long-running
deal could be worth $700-800mn over several maritime border dispute between the two coun-
years, a source told Reuters. tries. This could open up more of the gas-rich
MED-RED is owned by UAE-based eastern Mediterranean for development.™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 28•October•2020