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Israel Proposes Changes to Iran Nuclear Deal

ENLARGE Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz proposed changes to the nuclear deal announced last week between Iran and six world powers. The demands marked the first time Israeli officials outlined their own alternatives to the nuclear deal. Photo: Associated Press JERUSALEM—Israel’s intelligence chief proposed a dramatic revamp of an agreement forged last week between six world powers and Iran over its nuclear program and said the U.S. Congress was the most likely arena to fend off an unfavorable deal. Last week’s framework, however, leaves almost no room for negotiators on either side to overhaul the terms in the way Yuval Steinitz, the intelligence minister, called for Monday in a meeting with reporters. Instead, the demands are more likely to form the basis of renewed lobbying Israel has vowed to make against the deal, specifically among congressional lawmakers who seek to review the deal and are considering new sanctions against […]

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Israeli Response to Iran Nuclear Deal Could Have Broader Implications

JERUSALEM — It took President Obama two days to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel after his March 17 electoral victory, and any congratulations were couched in an excoriation of Mr. Netanyahu’s hawkish and divisive campaign rhetoric. It took Mr. Obama about two hours to call Mr. Netanyahu after Thursday’s announcement of a framework agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program , and this time it was the Israeli leader who lectured the American that the emerging deal “would threaten the survival” of his state. The White House account of the call was conciliatory: The president promised to increase security consultations and cooperation with Israel to “remain vigilant in countering Iran ’s threats.” The relationship between the two leaders, and their two nations, has always been asymmetrical — the United States is the world’s sole superpower, Israel a small country in a volatile neighborhood. But while Mr. Obama’s promised […]

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How the Eastern Mediterranean Could Supply Natural Gas to Europe

As Europe is seeking sources of natural gas to serve as an alternative for the politically sensitive Gazprom supply, a massive gas source presents itself for exploration and production. Whether this will happen or not depends on Turkey, a potential transit country. The development of the Leviathan field offshore Israel and of the Aphrodite natural-gas field offshore Cyprus is a potential game-changer. If the East Med gas pipeline is built via Turkey, offshore Israel and Cyprus may become serious gas suppliers for Europe. Until recently, the lack of natural resources effectively excluded the two countries from being big players. Leviathan boasts recoverable reserves of 17 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The Cypriot offshore Aphrodite field boasts estimated reserves of 7 trillion cubic feet. The European Union has publicly recognized that to ensure energy security and reach its climate-change goals, it must engage with […]

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Arab Alliance Rises as Force in Israeli Elections

IBILLIN, Israel — Avigdor Lieberman , Israel ’s nationalist foreign minister, stared coolly at the Arab politician sitting at the opposite end of a glass table during a televised election debate. “Why did you come to this studio, why not to Gaza, or Ramallah? Why are you even here?” asked Mr. Lieberman, who frequently calls Israel’s Arab citizens traitors and suggests that their towns be transferred to Palestinian control. “You are not wanted here; you are a Palestinian citizen.” The politician, Ayman Odeh, the leader of an alliance of Arab parties formed to contest Israeli elections on Tuesday, appeared unruffled. “I am very welcome in my homeland,” he said, a subtle dig at Mr. Lieberman, an immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Moldova. “I am part of the nature, the surroundings, the landscape,” he said in Arabic-accented Hebrew. The clash in late February on Israel’s popular Channel 2, […]

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Palestinian side cancels Israeli gas deal

Palestinian power company cancels contract with counterparts controlling Israeli natural gas reserves. (UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr.) Operators at the Leviathan natural gas field off the Israeli coast said Wednesday a Palestinian group canceled a $1.2 billion purchase contract. Delek Group, which alongside Noble Energy holds an 85 percent stake in the Leviathan project, said it received a "conditioned cancellation notice of the natural gas supply agreement from the Leviathan project to Palestine Power Generation Co." Leviathan is one of the largest regional gas fields, with an estimated 18 trillion cubic feet of reserves. Development was curtailed in late 2014 when the Israel Antitrust Authority said Delek Group and its partners at Noble Energy held a monopoly over all of the gas reservoirs off the nation’s coast. Both companies also control the nearby Tamar, estimated to hold as much as 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Delek in a statement […]

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KRG tanker unloads in Israel after abandoning US delivery

The view from the deck of the United Kalavryta, in this undated photo on the website of owner Marine Management Services M.C. The oil tanker at the center of a lawsuit over Kurdistan’s autonomous exports appears to have unloaded at the port of Ashkelon, having abandoned its quest to deliver crude to the U.S.The United Kalavryta, carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil produced and exported by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), sailed away from Texas in late January.It arrived at the Israeli port of Asheklon, where several other KRG-chartered tankers have unloaded their cargoes, and was last seen by …

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Delek: Credit OK despite Israeli cartel claims

Credit rating stable despite evolving antitrust issues in Israeli offshore gas fields, Delek Group says. Photo by James Jones Jr./UPI TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 31 (UPI) — The ruling from the Israeli Antitrust Authority on regional natural gas monopolies had no impact on credit ratings, energy company Delek Group disclosed. A note from Midroog, a subsidiary of Moody’s rating agency, reviewed Delek in the wake of the ruling that a monopoly exists over Israeli natural gas reserves. Delek supplied the findings in a Tuesday release, saying the financial assessment of the company remained stable. Midroog in its report rated Delek Group at A1, or a low credit risk, and stable. "At this preliminary stage, we are continuing to monitor the developments and their possible implications on the debt rating in the short term and medium term, with emphasis on the company’s financial flexibility, operating strategy and structure of its […]

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In Israel, Antitrust Regulator Reviews Natural Gas Development

LONDON — Israel ’s fledgling natural gas industry was rattled on Tuesday over a threat by the country’s antitrust regulator to break an American-Israeli group’s hold on the country’s gas resources. Israeli officials and the antitrust regulator have said that they are concerned that Noble Energy, a Houston-based oil company, and its partners, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration, had a lock on Israeli gas production. Noble and its partners produce nearly all of Israel’s gas from an offshore field called Tamar, and that gas is used to generate about half of the country’s electric power. They are also developing an even larger field, Leviathan . Together, Nobel estimates that the Leviathan and Tamar fields hold more than 800 billion cubic meters of gas, enough to meet current Israeli demand for about a century. With such a wealth of gas, the companies and the government are backing plans to […]

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New major gas find offshore Israel

Israeli energy company finds what may be third largest regional natural gas basin. (UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr.) TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 15 (UPI) — An Israeli energy company said it’s discovered what may be the third largest natural gas basin in the country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Minority partner Israel Opportunity said the so-called Royee field may hold around 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Located in the eastern Mediterranean, it would be the third largest in the region after the Leviathan and Tamar fields if reserve estimates are correct. The partners developing the giant Leviathan offshore gas field said an audit by Dutch consulting company Sewell and Associates put the reserve estimate at 21.9 trillion cubic feet, up from the previous estimate of around 18.9 trillion cubic feet. Tamar, with an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, entered into production in March 2013. Amit Lang, […]

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Israel’s Gas Offers Lifeline for Peace

THE TAMAR PLATFORM, Israel — Alarms rang out across the Tamar natural gas platform off the coast of Israel. The Israeli navy had detected smoky signs that a rocket might have been fired by Hamas from the shores of Gaza. As a voice over the loudspeaker warned to take cover, the crew raced up the metal stairs to a small gym that doubles as an air raid shelter. It turned out to be a false alarm. Natural gas is both a geopolitical tool and a target in Israel, where a newfound bonanza of resources has the potential to improve ties with energy-hungry Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian Authority . But the linchpin of this diplomatic push is not an Israeli official, a Middle Eastern king or an American ambassador. It is an oil company in Texas. Noble Energy, the Houston-based company that runs the Tamar platform and is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple