02 April 2013/21 Jumada l-Ula 1434/13 Farvardin 1391/22 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711
“The normalization of relations between Turkey and Israel was an important bilateral step……Israel will maintain its close relations with Cyprus, and continue strengthening them as we have done the last few years.”-Shani Cooper, Israeli deputy ambassador to Cyprus, 24 March 2013
According to the Cyprus Mail, U.S. President Barack Obama’s push to get Turkey and Israel to kiss and make up was part of the takeover of Cyprus.
You see, the real reason that Turkey, long the only regional ally of Israel, called Israel a new enemy was because of disagreements over how to handle the projected huge outflows from the massive Levant Basin Province petroleum fields in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. (officially Turkey said it was because Israel refused to apologize for killing Turkish citizens)
In steps Barack Obama three years later, on his first trip to Israel, suddenly Israel apologizes and Turkey accepts!
U.S. based Noble Energy, and Israeli Delek Energy are the main investors in Block 12 of the Leviathan/Levant fields. Cyprus sits along Block 12 (Cypriots call it Aphrodite). Noble Energy and Delek Energy want to sell that Block 12 natural gas to Turkey.
Israel and Turkey had considered a pipeline between their two countries, but Lebanon and Syria are in the way, and the western backed civil war failed to have the quick results they expected.
The current options are build a pipeline from gas fields in Israeli controlled water, around Lebanese and Syrian controlled water, trough Cyrpus’ water on its way to turkey. Or, build a pipeline directly from Cyprus’ Block 12 to Turkey. At this point the cheapest option is the Cyprus to Turkey route.
“You’ve got a 25-year project. Are you comfortable having Turkey being your best friend for that length of time? ……The key is to find enough gas to make it commercial. And if you can add gas from the nearby Israeli gas field Leviathan, even better.”-unnamed industry insider
There is also speculation that even more petroleum reserves will be found in Cyprus’ territorial water.
“It is naive not to think that they will put everything in one basket in the future: the Cyprus problem, hydrocarbons, Erdogan’s water pipeline project. All of this will come to a head. With Cyprus’ gas reserves, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but let’s hope it’s not a train.”-unnamed Cypriot diplomat
The recent financial takeover of Cyprus, which will hurt Russian investors, might have been a preemptive strike: “The whole project could provide very robust and meaningful amounts of money that would be coming into the country. If the Russians want to make a killing they will have very high fees, making LNG very costly, and as a result, Cyprus won’t make a big profit. If they’re reasonable, it could work. But you don’t want someone not totally trustworthy having their hand around your throat.”-unnamed industry insider
What the Israelis said about Leviathan/Levant!