Mediterranean hot with Eastern promise

摘要

The Mediterranean Sea has been dramatically transformed from a region containing mostly incremental oil and gas reserves to one that is now recognized as a world-class gas basin. The turnaround in the Mediterranean region's fortunes is almost entirely due to the massive surge of interest in the Mediterranean Sea's eastern margins, thanks to giant discoveries made in the previously sleepy backwaters offshore Israel and Cyprus. The proximity to neighboring Egypt's productive offshore and onshore sectors, where western operators such as BG Group, Eni, BP, and others have had substantial success in finding and producing onshore, shallow-water, and deepwater gas reserves, has long led explorationists to believe the trend extended further east. Little or no offshore activity was carried out, however, until virtually the turn of the century due to a lack of interest and in some cases political pressure.