The scramble for East Mediterranean gas is on

摘要

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to strengthen political ties with Europe, recently suggested to Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou that his country could soon be importing natural gas by undersea pipeline from Israel. Noble's activities in the East Mediterranean attracted the attention of other governments in the region, with offshore licensing rounds now expected in Lebanon, Cyprus, and Syria by early 2012. Indeed, analyst BMI said it expects the region's resource potential to attract significant investor attention. Meanwhile, Syria is expected to launch a licensing round in late 2010 or early 2011 for four offshore blocks covering 5,000 sq km. In the hopes of improving their chances of success, the Syrians are said to be acquiring additional data on the blocks, which failed to attract bids when offered in mid-2007. Cyprus also expects to launch an offshore license round, its second, in the first half of 2011.