The Eastern Mediterranean region, including Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, `will be able to work together to get to a point of cooperation/collaboration for exploiting their resources`, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs leading the Bureau of Energy Resources at the US Department of State Amos Hochstein has said.
Addressing the Atlantic Council in Washington on the US energy diplomatic priorities for 2015, Hochstein said `the Eastern Mediterranean is a critical area, because we believe the new discoveries can be used as a vehicle to increase cooperation, to increase collaboration, to support stability, security and prosperity`, adding that `it is an opportunity, it is a moment in time, but it doesn’t mean it will necessarily happen`.
Hochstein noted that `all the parties in that region will have to take some rational steps that will overcome some of their tendencies and old conflicts in order to make it happen`.
He said `you have a number of countries that have different assets`, noting that `some new supplies are coming on line, some have old infrastructure that can be used, because of the structures of demand, like in Egypt, where they went from an exporter to a country that now is consuming more than it produces., and the LNG terminals that need to be used are very immense investments, and Turkey that has a great demand that is going to grow and continue to grow for the next twenty years`.
`All this can be worked out together. But for that, again, regulatory things have to happen, rational decisions have to take place and we have been standing ready to support that process along, to bring people together to figure out how we can take the next step`, he said, adding that although it worked between Israel and Jordan, and there were prospects for extending to Egypt, it cannot be considered certain that it will necessarily happen.
`This is an area that every small change can have a domino effect that will take away the gains`, he said, adding however that he was an optimist and believed solutions could be found.
Hochstein also said that `Israel and Cyprus have discovered significant resources, but the most likely scenario is that they will be regional and not global players`.
`To that end, I said that I was an optimist and that I believe Israel and Cyprus will be in a position to export to Turkey and to Egypt and to Jordan. I still believe that. If look later in my comments there, we talked about the fact that before that to happen there are some hurdles we have to pass. So, I don’t say it will be tomorrow`, he said.
He noted that `there are hurdles that have to pass, inside Israel, in the process between Cyprus and Turkey and in the process between Israel and Turkey, Israel and Egypt, and Cyprus and Egypt`.
Hochstein also referred to Europe`s energy security, especially after the events in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, reminding that what happened on the 16th of June 2014 when the Russian gas was shut off was not a unique event, since it had previously happened in 2006 and 2009.
He also dismissed the use of South Stream, as it merely changes the course of the Russian natural gas to Europe. Regarding the new pipeline through Turkey, Hochstein said it was financially viable and was a political vehicle for Europe, adding that since it was based on economic facts, it would be successful.
`One thing that stands between us and a lot of these issues is the use of energy not as tool for cooperation but as a weapon. And that means, we still have the Iran oil sanctions, we have the effort against ISIL to make sure they cannot use their oil to finance and fund their terror operations and making sure the oil and gas discoveries – specifically offshore – in areas that are not delineated in the water and maritime delineations are not used as a source of conflict. We have to watch out for that part of it, while we promote all the positives`, he said.