Israel and Lebanon reached a "historic agreement" on maritime borders. It will allow both countries to extract gas from the fields of the Mediterranean Sea without conflicts or threats of attack.
Bloomberg writes about it.
"This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israelʼs security, inject billions into its economy and ensure the stability of the countryʼs northern border," the Prime Minister Yair Lapidʼs office noted.
The agreement between the countries was reached through the mediation of the U.S. — the U.S. Presidentʼs senior adviser on energy security Amos Hochstein drove to Lebanon and Israel several times to negotiate the agreement. The situation was complicated by the fact that Lebanon does not officially recognize Israel.
Why is this important?
The maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon have not been demarcated for a long time, in particular because Lebanon does not recognize the state of Israel. The problem was that the Karish and Kana gas fields are located at the place where the borders between the countries should pass in the Mediterranean Sea. Both Lebanon and Israel expressed their claims on them and even threatened to strike if gas production began.
The first negotiations on border demarcation began in 2020, but quickly reached an impasse. However, now, with the mediation of the U.S., the countries were able to come to an agreement. Israel will be able to begin producing gas at the Karish field without the threat of attack by Hezbollah, the Lebanese paramilitary organization and Iranian-sponsored party. Lebanon, in turn, will extract gas from the Qana field and pay certain contributions to Israel.
The production of gas by both countries will allow them to receive significant profits from its sale, in particular to Europe, which is actively looking for opportunities to abandon Russian gas. Also, the appearance of new players on the market will affect the world prices for energy resources — they will start to decrease.