Gas conflict .. Where to lead the Middle East?

Gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean have led to a rise in regional tensions that threaten the prospect of military confrontation between the countries bordering the Mediterranean.

These conflicts over the sharing of areas of exploration, demarcation, export pipeline routes and competition between regional energy centers have directly changed the map of regional alliances, escalated military motivation among the various parties on the Mediterranean, and the rise of geopolitical threats in the region, Tensions have hindered exploration and production activities or hindered the establishment of export routes for the European continent in the future.

The US Geological Survey estimates that the offshore area of Lebanon and Cyprus to Egypt may hold more than 340 trillion cubic feet of gas, but geopolitical risks and border disputes controlling the region have led to a sharp conflict over the gas fields.

According to a recent study by the Center for the Future of Advanced Studies and Research, the indicators of the conflict appear clear after the challenge of the agreements, as Turkey announced that it will appeal the Convention on the demarcation of the maritime border signed between Egypt and Cyprus in 2013, claiming that it is illegal and violate the Turkish continental shelf, No foreign country, company or even vessel can carry out research and oil and gas exploration on the Turkish continental shelf and its overlapping areas.

On the other hand, the Egyptian government announced its total rejection of the Turkish proposal, stressing that no party can dispute the legality of the agreement, especially as it is consistent with the rules of international law, and has been deposited as an international convention in the United Nations.

At the same time, Turkey refuses to agree on the demarcation of the maritime border between Cyprus and Israel in 2010, and considers these agreements to ignore Turkish sovereignty over the north of the island. As the conflict between Lebanon and Israel escalated after Beirut submitted a tender for oil and gas exploration in Block 9, the move prompted Lieberman to declare in February 2018 that this was very provocative and called on international companies to refrain from participating in the tender.

Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced that part of Block 9, in which Lebanon is bidding, belongs to Israel. Block 9 is an area of 83,000 square kilometers. The disputed area with Israel is estimated at 854 square kilometers, and Israeli provocations To the extent that the Israeli Navy prevented any gas exploration vessels from operating in Lebanese territorial waters.

On 9 February, Turkish warships prevented the Saipem 12000 ship belonging to the Italian company Eni from drilling and excavating in the Subia field in Area 3, located in the southeast of the island. The Turkish government has decided to take a precautionary measure to secure the exploration of its companies in the region. The navy ordered the transfer of a military unit to the eastern Mediterranean.

The emergence of these conflicts may be due to the increasing drilling and drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region by international energy companies, and the high volume and number of recent discoveries in Egypt, Cyprus and Lebanon.