Flush with fresh subsea natural gas finds, Cyprus and Israel are flirting more and more with export cooperation as political deadlock continues to put Lebanon’s hydrocarbon exploration plans on hold. While being behind its neighbors is not in itself a bad thing, the country is keeping tens of willing international companies waiting for a peek at what lies below Lebanese waters.
Bankrupt Cyprus seems most keen on getting moving with exports quickly. The Greek side of the island nation is currently in talks with the US oil-and-gas giant Noble Energy and Israeli partners on building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. The massively expensive project would allow Cyprus – and potentially others – to convert some of its natural gas to a liquid, making it easier to export via ship to markets around the world.

Last week, the Cypriot press reported that a final agreement on building and – more importantly – financing the multi-billion-dollar terminal should be ready by December. A few days later, Cyprus, Israel and Greece inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the energy and water sectors. [Link]