’Israeli’ Lawmakers Scramble as Gas Field Discovered Off Coast of Egypt
Local Editor
A “supergiant” natural gas field had been discovered off the coast of Egypt, the Italian energy company Eni announced Sunday, calling the find the “largest-ever” natural gas deposit the largest ever found in the Mediterranean Sea.
The discovery was made during Eni’s Zohr prospect “in the deep waters of Egypt.” It is believed that the gas field holds some 30 trillion cubic feet of gas over an area of 100 square kilometers [38.6 miles].
“Zohr is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea and could become one of the world’s largest natural gas fields,” Eni said in a statement. “The discovery, after its full development, will be able to ensure satisfying Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades.”
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi was quoted by Reuters as saying that the Zohr gas field “could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds.”
Moreover, the Zohr field is almost double in size to the Zionist entity’s Leviathan gas field, which is estimated at 16 trillion cubic feet and was the largest natural has deposit in the Mediterranean.
The discovery of the natural gas field has spurred “Israeli” lawmakers to finalize a stalled agreement on the country’s own gas reserves in the Mediterranean.
The controversial deal, headed by American Noble Energy and “Israel”-based Delek Group, had faced heated opposition in the Knesset. Critics fear that the regulations surrounding the energy agreement would overly favor those companies involved in the deal, almost resembling a monopoly.
“The discovery of the massive gas field in Egypt is a painful reminder that while “Israel” sleepwalks and dallies with the final approval for the gas road map, and delays further prospecting, the world is changing in front of us, including ramifications for export options,” the Zionist entity’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Sunday.
“We must pass the gas road map and forward the “Israeli” gas industry,” he added.
Accordingly, “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a proponent of the Noble-Delek agreement, maintained that the deal would pump billions of shekels into the “Israeli” economy. Earlier this month, the prime minister pushed the deal through his cabinet.
The Noble-Delek group had already been producing gas from “Israeli” fields since 2013, beginning with the Tamar field right off the “Israeli” occupied-coast. The two companies had also agreed to develop the Leviathan by 2019.
Earlier this year, stakeholders of the Tamar field agreed to sell Egypt five billion cubic meters of gas over the next three years. The gas will flow to Egypt through an old pipeline that used to supply Egyptian gas to the Zionist entity.
Source: Al-Ahed news
