by Hezi Sternlicht
Natural gas industry insiders laud "historic opportunity," say that if all goes as planned, the Israel-Turkey pipeline could be up and running in three years • "The Turks have a pragmatic view on this issue. They want to get things done," official says.
Energy Minister Yuval
Steinitz with his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak in Istanbul,
Thursday
|
Photo credit: AFP  |
Israeli natural gas industry officials
expressed optimism over the weekend that plans to construct an
Israeli-Turkish gas pipeline would "open the door to gas exports to
Europe," calling it a "historic opportunity" for both the industry and
Israeli economy.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met Turkish
counterpart Berat Albayrak in Istanbul Thursday. This was the first
visit by an Israeli minister to Turkey since the countries ended their
six-year rift this summer.
Albayrak is considered a very senior Turkish
official. Sources privy to the 90-minute meeting between the two said
the ministers discussed a variety of issues pertaining to regional
development and bilateral relations.
Turkey seeks to pursue several humanitarian
projects in the Gaza Strip, including building two power stations in the
enclave. Israel is said to be considering the issue favorably, as long
as is does not compromise its security interests.
Steinitz noted that "Israel welcomes any
involvement of Turkey in improving the lives of ordinary people in Gaza.
We will do our best in order to enable this."
The energy minister said the two countries
"agreed to establish an immediate dialogue to examine the possibility
and feasibility" of the natural gas pipeline project that would carry
Israeli natural gas to Turkey and from there to Europe.
He said Israel would also welcome the participation of Turkish businesses in the exploration of future gas fields.
Steinitz said Israel as considering other pipeline projects, namely through Greece and Cyprus, as well.
According to available details, Israel and
Turkey seek to finalize the project's blueprints by the end of March
2017. Energy Ministry Director General Shaul Meridor was named point man
on the negotiations.
Israeli gas industry insiders said that should
everything progress as expected, the pipeline will go online by 2019,
adding this would most likely be a private sector project backed by the
government.
"The Turks have a surprisingly pragmatic and
positive view on this issue. They want to get things done, especially
given how much time it took to normalize relations," one official said.
A future project of this magnitude is likely
to encounter several challenged, another official said, namely
coordinating with Russia, which is pursuing an oil pipeline project
vis-a-vis Turkey, as well as the fact that any future gas pipeline will
have to run through Cypriot economic waters.
Industry experts said maritime economic zones would require contractual solution, but the issue poses no obstacle to such deals.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people took to the streets of
Amman Saturday, protesting Jordan's agreement to import natural gas from
Israel. The $10 billion deal, finalized last week, will see Israel
supply Jordan with natural gas for the next 15 years.
Hezi Sternlicht
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=37179
Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment