Tamar gas field

Natural gas prices in Europe increased by 2% during early trading on Monday, as ongoing conflict in the Middle East injected fresh volatility into the market. By 1:30 p.m. Bulgarian time, Dutch TTF futures had risen about 2%, returning above €40 per megawatt-hour, inching closer to the 10-month high of 41 euros reached on October 7.

A Chevron-led consortium that holds licensing rights over a gas field off Cyprus will present an updated development plan within days, one of the partners has said, after Cyprus gave them a three-month deadline to comply.

With US-based ExxonMobil entering the final stage of exploration in Crete, Athens' expectations have been boosted by the statement by Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas that there are indications of a significant deposit that could fill the Russian gas gap in Europe for 10 years.

Israel began exporting natural gas to Egypt on Wednesday under one of the most important deals to have been signed by the neighbors since they made peace decades ago.
A private firm in Egypt, Dolphinus Holdings, will purchase 85 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, worth an estimated $19.5 billion, from Israel's Leviathan and Tamar offshore fields over 15 years.

The Eastern Mediterranean has once more emerged as a particularly critical area for international and regional stability, security and economic growth. On its geopolitical chessboard, competition is evolving.

An ownership squabble over Cyprus's main natural gas field is threatening to delay multi-billion-dollar plans to turn the Eastern Mediterranean into a major energy hub.

Greek oil producer Energean has exceeded its target for gas sales contracts needed before it goes ahead with plans to tap two gas fields off Israel's coast, market sources said on Wednesday. Energean bought the Karish and Tanin fields, located in deep waters around 100 kilometers off Israel's coast, last August for $148 million from US-Israeli partners Delek Group and Noble Energy.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak is set to visit Israel by the end of this year to conclude an agreement for the building of a natural gas pipeline from the Jewish state to Turkey, the Israeli energy minister said on July 12.     

"We could have Israeli gas in Turkey in the next three to four years," said Shaul Meridor, the Israeli Energy Ministry's director general, at the eighth annual Atlantic Council Istanbul Summit. 

An Israeli company said on March 2 it has started exporting gas from an offshore field to Jordan, marking the country's first ever exports of natural gas.

The exports to Jordan began in January, Delek Drilling -- part of a consortium leading the development of Israel's offshore gas reserves -- told AFP.