Officials in Turkey and Israel said that the two sides are looking behind the scenes to build a gas pipeline as one of the European alternatives to Russian energy supplies, but this issue will face many obstacles before any agreement can be reached, according to a Archyde.com report.
The idea first surfaced years ago is to build an undersea pipeline from Turkey to Leviathan, Israel’s largest natural gas field.
The gas then flows to Turkey and to its southern European neighbors who are looking for energy alternatives away from Russia.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said cooperation in the field of gas is “one of the most important steps that we can take together in bilateral relations.”
He added to reporters that he is ready to send a number of senior ministers to Israel to revive the idea of a pipeline that has been around for years.
A senior Turkish official told Archyde.com that talks have been ongoing between the two sides since Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog visited Ankara earlier this month, and that the coming months might see “concrete decisions” on the proposed route and the participating entities.
But officials in the energy sector are taking a conservative approach to the project, saying that production and geopolitical constraints are factors that may prevent the plan from coming to light.
The Leviathan line already supplies gas to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The owners of the field, namely the American company Chevron and the two Israeli companies, Numid Energy and Rachio Oil, intend to increase production from 12 billion cubic meters annually to 21 billion.
In comparison, the European Union imported 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas last year, which covers regarding 40 percent of its consumption.
Numid says much of the additional gas production will be liquefied and exported by ship to Europe or the Far East.
And the CEO of the company said, last month, that Turkey might become a destination as well, but that it should invest itself in this plan and commit to building the pipeline.
Asked regarding the talks, the Leviathan partners declined to comment.
Israeli Energy Minister Karen Al-Harr told the Ynet news site on Sunday that many matters have not yet been discussed, including financial matters.
“It (the project) must be economically feasible, and it is not self-evident,” she added.
