Israel Says Oil Rights Dispute with Lebanon 'Delayed' Exploration
Israel said on Tuesday that U.S. back-channel negotiations between the Lebanese and Israeli sides to solve the dispute over maritime borders have delayed exploration for oil and gas.”
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that “suggestion of new ideas proposed through the US back-channel talks to mediate a maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon have complicated operations for gas and oil exploration.”
He added that some “new ideas are on the table,” but declined to elaborate further.
The acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, has shuttled between the countries in recent months as a mediator.
“There is room for cautious optimism, no more than that. I hope that in the coming months, or by the end of the year, we will be able to reach a solution or even a partial solution for the dispute,” said Steinitz.
In February, Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas off its coast with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek, including in a block disputed by Israel.
Israel says one of two blocks in the eastern Mediterranean where Lebanon wants to drill for oil belongs to it, and denounced any exploration by Beirut as "provocative".
This has led to tension between both sides--which are technically still at war-- promising to protect their resources and warning about encroachment.
Tension also mounted as Israel pursues the construction of a wall along the border.
Block nine is the disputed block with Israel.
Exploration is set to begin in 2019.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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