Occupied Jerusalem -
Despite the Israeli secrecy, the American company specialized in the search for energy resources, "Halliburton", announced that it had won a bid put forward by Tel Aviv to explore for gas in the territorial waters, which is a battleground between Lebanon and Israel in the Mediterranean.
This tender for exploration in a disputed area brings the conflict between Israel and Lebanon over the gas fields in the Mediterranean back to the fore, and over the redrawing of the maritime borders between them, after the negotiations that began in October 2020 faltered under the auspices of the United Nations and American mediation.
The Israeli Ministry of Energy refrained from disclosing and officially announcing the agreement that authorizes the American company to explore for gas in the Mediterranean waters off the shores of Haifa.
However, Halliburton disclosed - through a statement published on its website - that it will cooperate with the Greek company "Energean" to explore, evaluate and develop offshore energy wells in Israel, without specifying the geographical location of those wells.
Gas and energy stores, oil refineries and petrochemicals factory in Haifa (the island)
Bids and negotiations
The license obtained by the American company to explore for gas in cooperation with the Greek company - and under an agency of the two American companies “Noble Energy” and “Delek Kedohim”, which works for Israel - in the “Kerish” field in the Mediterranean Sea ( 160 km northwest of Haifa), which is the disputed field with Lebanon. According to the license, 3 to 5 exploratory wells will be drilled to prospect for gas.
Under the license, the "Halliburton" company is committed to providing all services from drilling and exploration in the depth of the sea, including project management and securing the requirements for obtaining more accurate data in evaluating production capabilities, noting that the "Kreish" field - which was discovered in 2012 - ranges in quantity Gas estimated in it between 60-80 billion cubic meters.
This is in addition to the "Tamar" and "Levitan" fields, which were discovered in 2009 and 2010 off the Mediterranean, 90 to 130 km west of Haifa. The Lebanese government insists that they are within the disputed maritime waters with Israel, which in turn rejected Lebanon's position, and confirmed To the American mediator, both fields are outside any future negotiations or settlement.
The UN negotiations, brokered by the United States, are discussing a disputed area of 2,290 km, and the Lebanese government insists that the area is greater than this, while the proposed negotiation is an area of only 860 km.
And the American mediator made it clear - after the fifth round of negotiations in April of this year - that Beirut once again raised the ceiling of its demands.
The researcher in Israeli affairs, Antoine Shalhat: Israel considers the economic collapse in Lebanon an opportunity to expand its influence (Al-Jazeera)
Hezbollah and Iran
These Israeli and American approaches to settling the dispute over the maritime borders come in light of the economic, political and military crises afflicting Lebanon, and a governance crisis deepened by the Corona pandemic.
The researcher in Israeli affairs, Antoine Shalhat, says that Lebanon is going through unprecedented circumstances and is witnessing a state of collapse in state facilities, and this situation is a golden opportunity for Israel to pressure and blackmail it by seizing more spaces in marine waters and gas and energy fields, in addition to forcing it to besiege Hezbollah and limit Iranian influence. .
Shalhat pointed out - to Al Jazeera Net - that Israeli security assessments and national security research centers fear and warn of the growing power of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is parallel to strengthening Iran's power in the nuclear arms race and the development of ballistic missiles, and accordingly, Tel Aviv employs the gas fields paper and demarcates maritime borders. To put more pressure on Lebanon to besiege Iran and Hezbollah.
In Shalhat's opinion, granting the US company licenses to explore for gas in the Mediterranean reflects the unity of US-Israeli plans in the Middle East.
He refers here to the efforts of the Israeli government headed by Naftali Bennett to enhance security and political coordination with the administration of President Joe Biden in various important files and issues, including energy and gas.
Discoveries and struggles
The discoveries of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean have led to major political action over the past decade, and to alliances that have redrawn conflicts between nations, hoping to maximize their marine wealth and seize the largest expanse of oil and gas.
On this, Nimrod Goron, director of the Mitvim Institute, which specializes in the foreign policies of Israel and the Middle East, explains that granting an American company to explore for gas in the territorial waters off Haifa comes in the context of Israel’s aspiration to be an energy country in the Middle East, and to compete globally. And the competition of time to exploit the natural resources of oil and gas as the world turns to clean energy.
Guron believes - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - that the region's governments, with the intervention of superpowers, seek to promote ambitious projects to transport natural gas to Europe through underwater pipelines.
With the encouragement of the United States, an initial framework for regional cooperation was established in early 2019 under the name "Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum", which includes Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
The deteriorating conditions are pushing Lebanon to negotiate over gas exploration in the Mediterranean in an effort to resolve its economic crisis (Reuters)
blackmail and siege
Goron says that Lebanon, which was absent from the Mediterranean Gas Forum - despite its conflict with Israel over gas fields on the northern maritime border - found itself besieged and subject to blackmail by Israel in everything related to energy and gas rights.
Therefore, Lebanon chose - says Goron - "the path of negotiations and settling the conflict with Israel regarding offshore waters, energy and gas fields, in order for gas discoveries and energy resources to contribute to resolving its economic crisis."
Goron believes that granting an American company the authority to explore for gas in the territorial waters off Israel is an indication that the occupying power is determined to explore and benefit from gas, even if this is at the expense of undermining and reducing the Lebanese rights with regard to gas fields and disputed areas. Israel would lose up to $72 billion in direct gas revenues, in addition to indirect tax revenues.
The director of the Mitvim Institute ruled out the possibility that the gas exploration tenders awarded to the American company would lead to an end to the UN mediation and the mission of the American envoy.
He believes that "this bid could constitute a pressure card on Lebanon to accept the Israeli conditions, and any proposed UN or US settlement in the future, in light of the deepening economic crisis, the expansion of Hezbollah's hegemony and the penetration of Iran's influence in Lebanon."