After Cyprus bailout, Israeli apology, gas takes centre stage

by Alakbar Raufoglu and Andy Dabilis | Southeast European Times

The prospect of normalisation between Israel and Turkey following last month's apology has opened the questions about the relationship between Israel, Greece and Cyprus.

The fallout between Israel and Turkey over the past four years pushed Israel for strategic and economic reasons to cozy up to Greece and Cyprus, Turkey's historic rivals in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"The relations that were built in the last four years with Greece and Cyprus were to a great extent a result of the severe crisis with Turkey," Alon Liel, the former Israeli ambassador to Turkey, told SETimes.

Some analysts say this geopolitical and economic calculation could change following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology to Turkey for the 2010 raid on the Turkish aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, as it tried to breach an Israeli blockade of Gaza, resulting in the death of nine Turkish activists.

Mavi Marmara led to a severing of relations between once close regional powers. The apology opened the way to a still nascent rapprochement.

The prospect of Turkey and Israel rekindling their once close relationship has many observers looking to the large but disputed gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean that could transform the geopolitical future of the region.

Minister: Turkey uses energy resources for regional stabilisation and development

by A. Taghiyeva | Trend


Turkey is using energy resources and power projects for the stabilisation and development of the region, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said at a meeting of the World Economic Forum (Davos Forum) in Baku today.

Turkey has restructured its energy sector twofold during the past 10 years, he said.

He added that during this period, the country's GDP has increased threefold. This testifies to the successful development of the Turkish economic and energy sectors.

This means because Turkey has achieved so much in the energy sector, today the country can implement different energy and economic projects with many world countries.

 "Along with the implementation of the South Stream project with Russia, Turkey is also successfully implementing the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project with fraternal country Azerbaijan," Yildiz said.

 "On the other hand, Turkey continues its energy cooperation with Iran, despite the political problems of the latter," he said. "It is also developing a partnership in the energy sector with neighbouring Iraq."

The minister also stressed such projects as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, which are the key tasks in the transport and energy security of the region.

According to Yildiz, while connecting Asia's production capacity with the European consumer markets, Turkey plays an important role of an energy transport bridge in the region.

Source: http://en.trend.az/capital/business/2136525.html

Turkey-Israel: the new Great Game

by Daniel Dombey | Financial Times

There is a new Great Game afoot and it is taking place beneath the sea floor of the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and Israel’s tentative reconciliation is a process so fraught that US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared in Istanbul at the weekend to chivvy the two sides towards restoring full diplomatic ties. But if the steps he set out can be taken — agreeing compensation for nine Turks killed by Israeli forces in 2010, avoiding inflammatory talk, exchange of ambassadors — then a whole series of changes could be unleashed from Damascus to Brussels.

 In particular, there is the question of a pipeline that could ferry newly discovered Israeli natural gas to energy-hungry Turkey — a move that would knit the two US allies closer together, despite enduring suspicions.

“It is possible that cooperation in energy between Turkey and Israel could follow an anticipated rapprochement,” said Taner Yilidz, Turkey’s energy minister, on Monday.

Turkish officials caution that bilateral talks on such cooperation can only really get going after ambassadors are exchanged — but add that business contacts on the topic are already burgeoning.

Ozgur Altug at BGC partners in Istanbul contends that rapprochement means that “relatively weak Israel-Turkey economic relations will pick up again”. He observes that although Turkish exports to Israel have risen over the last decade (falling back slightly in 2012) to their current level of $2.5bn, they have declined as a proportion of Ankara’s total exports (of which they now account for about 1.5 per cent rather than more than 2 per cent previously).

The ‘Great Game’ in the Levant

by Semih Idiz | Al-Monitor

With billions of cubic meters in estimated gas reserves, the Eastern Mediterranean, or the “Levant Basin” by another name, is turning into the stage for a contemporary version of the 19th Century “Great Game,” which has as much potential for catalyzing peace, as it does for contributing to new tensions in a region already rife with conflict.

The key event this respect came on March 30, the historic date when natural gas from the Tamar field, off the coast of Israel, started flowing to the Israeli mainland, thus kicking off a process that will not only make the Jewish state largely energy independent, but also turn it into a key supplier for European markets.

The Tamar field, discovered as recently as 2009, is said to hold 250 billion cubic meters [427 billion square feet] of gas, and is the smaller of Israel’s two offshore fields, the bigger one being the Leviathan field with its estimated 425 billion cubic meters of gas, but which has yet to be developed.

Texas-based Noble Energy and the Israeli Delek Energy, the two largest shareholders in the Israel gas fields are said to be looking for a go-ahead now from the Israel government to export the larger portion of the gas, since demand in Israel is insufficient to cover the cost of developing the Leviathan field.

Turkish Minister: Anatolia only feasible gas route for Israel, Greek Cyprus

Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey awaits normalization with Israel to discuss energy projects, as Israel’s energy plans would only be reasonable if Turkey was involved, Turkish Energy Minister has said

Turkey is not indifferent toward Israel’s energy projects for transferring the Eastern Mediterranean natural gas and oil to the international markets, since the resources would be not be feasible unless they were transferred through Turkey, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said.

“It is the same for Greek Cyprus,” Yıldız told reporters yesterday. “It will have no benefit to your people if you say ‘I will do it even if it is expensive.’ I’m telling this both for Israel and Greek Cyprus,” he said, adding that the projects would be meaningful only if the right move is made.

But, discussing energy deals before the restoration of ties between Turkey and Israel has been finalized would be impossible, according to the minister.

“As relations normalize in the future, then we can discuss if natural gas could be transferred by a pipeline through Turkey,” the minister said.