Israel preparing to connect to gas field disputed by Lebanon
Israel's energy ministry said Friday it was set to conduct tests on a maritime field claimed in part by Lebanon, ahead of connecting it to Israel's gas network.
The ministry "was preparing to connect the Karish reservoir to the Israeli system," a statement said.
The gas field has been licensed to London-listed company Energean.
"As part of the next stage of the project, planned for the upcoming days, the rig and natural transmission system from the rig to the national network will be tested," the statement added.
Officials told AFP the test would be conducted by transferring gas from Israel to the rig.
The ministry announcement comes less than 10 days after Energean announced it was "on track to deliver (the) first gas from the Karish development project within weeks."
Israel says the Karish field is located entirely within its exclusive economic zone, but Lebanon insists that part of the field falls within its own waters.
The United States has mediated the dispute, which escalated in early June when Energean brought a production vessel into the field.
Last Friday, U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein noted "progress" in the talks, but said that "still more work needs to be done."
Lebanon and Israel, whose border is patrolled by the United Nations, have no diplomatic relations.
They had resumed maritime border negotiations in 2020, but the process was stalled by Beirut's claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying.
Lebanon initially demanded 860 square kilometers in the disputed maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometers, including part of the Karish field.
Israel claims the field lies in its waters and is not part of the disputed area subject to ongoing negotiations.
Hezbollah, which launched drones towards the Karish gas field in July, had threatened attacks if Israel proceeds with gas extraction in the disputed area.
On Thursday, Israel's national security advisor Eyal Hulata addressed Hezbollah's threats, noting an agreement to export gas to energy-starved Europe.
"Israel will not be deterred by these threats and continue to realize its energetic interests, activate Karish and fulfill the important contracts it signed, including with Egypt and the EU," he said at a conference at Israel's Reichman University in Herzliya.
16 September 2022, 16:54
11
This is our gas, our revenues that Israel is about steal again. And of course, the end users are the nazi-descendants Europeans !
16 September 2022, 17:38
10
I suppose next that you'll be claiming that all the fields south of Karish are in Lebanese territory. Just make sure that those fields you claim in the sea north of Lebanon are not claimed by Syria, or perhaps even Cyprus.
Remember, when you open Pandora's box, you never know what will jump out.
By the way, the Qara field has always been acknowledged as Lebanese territory, so why have you not developed it yet?
16 September 2022, 18:03
01
Your grandmother's abuser lost all claim to any place or natural resource in modern Lebanon to the French and the British at the end of World War I, years before a Nazi could fill a diaper. Neither the French nor the British appreciated your grandmother's contributions, or your grandfather's acquiescence, enough to reward them with so much more than what they gave to others so to satisfy what would become your suffering at grandma's plight. That is envy, by definition.
Envy is haram and un-Christian.
At least get the history right, in your emotional outbursts. Balfour and Sykes-Picot predate the Austrian Corporal by a generation.
Your hatred, if not misdirected, is at least unjustified by the circumstance.
16 September 2022, 18:46
12
The border is horizontal not diagonal. Over 60 years of corruption has allowed Israel to creep in and falsely change the digital lines but not the original lines in 1943 before Israel existed.
The entire Karish field is exclusively Lebanese.
Parts of both the Tamar and Tain fields are also Lebanese per the original border.
Enough corruption. All of Karish for Lebanon and 50% split for the content of Tamar and Tanin with Israel. Anything less is theft.
17 September 2022, 01:06
10
Lebanese racism (Article 24 of the constitution which gives half of parliamentary seats to "Christians") is dependent on Israeli racism. Both regimes depend on European legitimization. Unfortunately, Europe is just about finished: it's gone back to being a bunch a states, leaving a few hundred bureaucrats like Stoltenberg and von der Leyen like talking heads without any bodies underneath them.
