Page 15 - DMEA Week 42

DMEA TRANSPORT DMEA

Israel pens deal to bring

UAE crude to Europe

ISRAEL 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-
The deal comes after to bring UAE oil to Europe, in another sign ber Line, an international energy and infrastruc-
Israel and the UAE’s of improving ties between the two former ture developer.
landmark peace deal in adversaries. “There is no doubt that this agreement is of
September. The oil would flow through a 254-km pipeline high importance to the Israeli market, both eco-
linking the Red Sea city of Eilat with the Mediter- nomically and strategically, with joint invest-
ranean port of Ashkelon. The deal, if finalised, ments extending a decade into the future,” EAPC
would represent the biggest energy partnership Chairman Erez Halfon said.
between Israel and the UAE since they normal- Under the deal, EAPC will be in charge of
ised 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 last
a company with both Israeli and Emirati own- month, as well as another one with Bahrain. They
ers, during a ceremony with visiting US Treas- were only the third and fourth such deals Israel
ury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Washington has has reached with Arab states since it declared its
played an instrumental role in bringing Israel independence in 1948. Agreements were earlier
and its Arab neighbours closer together. made with Egypt and Jordan.
Besides shipping UAE crude, the two sides Israeli-Arabi 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 with 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 eased 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 across 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. ™

Week 42 22•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15