Geopolitical ‘game’ in SE Med over energy resources heats up

A high-stakes “poker game” is apparently underway in the natgas-rich southeast Mediterranean, with new “players” and partnerships emerging as Europe attempts to wean itself completely off Russian fossil fuels.

As such, cooperation in the energy sector is among the top issues on the agenda of a tripartite Greece-Cyprus-Israel summit being held in Nicosia. Meanwhile, Turkish and Israeli officials held talks over the weekend that focused on possible energy cooperation, as the two countries seek to expand economic ties.

According to Bloomberg, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar spoke by phone on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, as talks reportedly revolved around “opportunities for bilateral and regional energy cooperation, including natural gas.”
Within this context, the US side has shown an interest in a dispute between Cyprus and several multinationals under the Chevron umbrella, namely, over how to exploit a giant natural gas field in the region – with the former supporting the US company’s plan to connect the field with neighboring Egypt, according to Reuters, which quoted market sources.

The Chevron-led consortium has proposed connecting the Aphrodite gas field via an undersea pipeline to existing gas infrastructure in Egypt, where quantities can be sold domestically or liquefied and shipped to Europe, replacing the need for Russian supplies.

On his part, Cyprus Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou confirmed that the Nicosia government has rejected the latest plan, which ignores an earlier proposal to build a floating natural gas processing plant adjacent to the field, and located 160 kilometers southeast of Cyprus.