The Eastern Mediterranean Sea was long assumed to be rich in natural gas given its proximity to major gas deposits in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the region attracted little interest by energy companies in the past, as technological limitations prohibited any deepwater extraction projects. Nonetheless, as the existing natural gas reservoirs in the North Sea were depleting[1] and deepwater drilling technology progressed, Europe turned its attention to the Eastern Mediterranean as a potential alternative gas supplier. Initial estimates had the Levantine and Delta Nile Basins containing of up to 3.450[2] and 6.300[3] billion cubic meters (bcm) of potentially retrievable natural gas respectively led to a lot of optimism for the region’s potential. For context, the Groningen gas field contained around 2.800 bcm of proved reserves, while the EU consumed 356[4] bcm and imported approximately 130 bcm of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in 2022[5].
Israel was the first Eastern Mediterranean country in to 2009 to announce a commercially viable gas field within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Tamar is located near the Israeli shores and contains 250 billion cubic meters (bcm) of recoverable gas. A year later, Israel announced the Leviathan gas field, almost double the size of Tamar[6]. Leviathan’s location near the Cypriot EEZ gave hope that a similarly sized economically viable gas field could be found within Cypriot borders in the future. Finally, Egypt announced the Zohr gas field in 2015 containing 850 bcm of gas, being the largest in the Mediterranean Sea. Since then, more minor gas reservoirs have been found in Cyprus, Israel and Egypt, permitting an annual production that greatly exceeds the region’s annual consumption. Consequently, the Eastern Mediterranean countries immediately sought ways to export gas to the European market.
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[1] Netherland Oil and Gas portal. (2023, July 4). Figures and facts about gas extraction in Groningen. https://dashboardgroningen.nl/
[2] Schenk, C.J., Kirschbaum, M.A., Charpentier, R.R., Klett, T.R., Brownfield, M.E., Pitman, J.K., Cook, T.A., and Tennyson, M.E. (2010). Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Levant Basin Province, Eastern Mediterranean. USGS Fact Sheet 2010-3014: Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Levant Basin Province, Eastern Mediterranean
[3] Schenk, C.J., Kirschbaum, M.A., Charpentier, R.R., Klett, T.R., Brownfield, M.E., Pitman, J.K., Cook, T.A., and Tennyson, M.E. (2010). Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Nile Delat Basin Province, Eastern Mediterranean. https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2010/3027/pdf/FS10-3027.pdf
[4] Eurostat. (2022). Supply, transformation and consumption of gas-monthly data. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/NRG_CB_GASM__custom_6040560/default/table?lang=en
[5] European Commission. (2022). Quarterly Report on European Gas Markets Report Q4 2022. https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-05/Quarterly%20Report%20on%20European%20Gas%20Markets%20report%20Q4%202022.pdf
[6] Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of Israel. (2022). Oil and Natural Gas E&P in Israel. https://www.energy-sea.gov.il/home/oil-natural-gas-e-p-in-israel/
