Recent discoveries of natural gas off of Cyprus and Israel’s shores give both countries the potential to become energy exporters. But the fields are located deep below the seabed in waters 2,000 meters deep and more than 100 kilometers from the coast, presenting technical and diplomatic challenges for which there are no obvious simple solutions. The prospect of finding additional significant gas fields, and even exploitable oil deposits, compounds the decisionmaking challenges.
In this new report published by the German Marshall Fund, Washington Institute fellow Simon Henderson discusses ways of surmounting these challenges, including the development of a range of export options, both by pipeline and liquefied natural gas, and perhaps as electricity. Whatever route is taken, cooperation between Israel and Cyprus is likely an important element in each country’s successful exploitation of the newfound riches.