Page 4 - AfrOil Week 42 2022

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

(Photo: Lebanon Gas News)
Waiting on an Egyptian

solution for Gaza’s gas

El-Molla hopes Europe’s pressing need for gas will tip the scales in favour of developing Gaza Marine

IT has been known for more than two decades which in turn exited Gaza Marine in 2018. Since
that the waters off the coast of the Gaza Strip then, there has been no progress, and Israeli
WHAT: contain significant volumes of natural gas. authorities have not permitted the Palestinian
Egyptian and Israeli BG (UK) was granted a licence to explore a coalition – formed by Palestine Investment
officials are reportedly section of the offshore zone by the Palestinian Fund (PIF) and the Greek Consolidated Con-
discussing a deal that Authority (PA) in 1999, and the following year tractors Co. (CCC), which collectively hold the
would let EGAS lead the it announced the discovery of sizeable reserves development licence – to access the field.
development of Gaza at a field now known as Gaza Marine. The site’s
Marine. resources were later estimated to amount to More recent events
around 989bn cubic feet (28.01bn cubic metres). Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla did
WHY: Since this is far more than enough to sustain seek to move matters forward in February 2021,
Since the project was put local consumption levels in Gaza, BG saw the saying during his first official visit to Israel that
on hold, new transport field as a potential source of exports. Realising Cairo was willing to work with the PA to facili-
and LNG capacity have
become available. that potential proved very complicated, how- tate the project.
ever. BG’s proposals for developing Gaza Marine During a meeting with Yuval Steinitz, then
WHAT NEXT: repeatedly ran aground due to Israeli reserva- serving as Israel’s energy minister, he talked
The parties are now tions about the PA’s plans, as well as political about the possibility of connecting Gaza Marine
waiting on a response conflicts between the PA, whose leaders are to a wider network linking Israel’s Leviathan
from Hamas. based in the West Bank, and Hamas, which has field to the shore. He was also present for the
dominated Gaza since 2007. signing of a memorandum of understanding
As a result, BG eventually quit the project (MoU) between state-run Egyptian Natural Gas
and transferred its equity stake to Shell (UK), Holding (EGAS) and CCC.

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