HUGE: The European Union Signs Major Deal to Buy Israeli Gas

The goal is to wean themselves off from Russian fossil fuels

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

For many years, Israel was dependent on the outside world for the majority of its energy needs. This allowed many countries (including from the European Union) to pressure Israel into making concessions against its interests. Today the shoe is on the other foot, and this time Israel is in the driver’s seat!

Since 2009 (when the first gas reserves were discovered off the coast of Haifa) Israel has discovered at least 36 trillion cubic feet of gas (making it one of the world’s largest reserves). It is believed that there is a lot more to be discovered. Since then, Israel has signed a 15-billion-dollar deal to sell gas to Egypt, and a 10-billion-dollar deal with Jordan, and that is only the beginning of Israel’s journey into becoming a major energy exporter. Now, in a major diplomatic coup for Israel, the EU is in dire need of natural gas due to their sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, which until now has supplied Europe with 40% of their gas needs. They are now looking towards the Jewish state for help (especially as the cold winter months are approaching).

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi recently made a trip to Israel to meet with Israel’s minister of energy Karine Elharrar. They signed a memorandum of understanding together in a deal which also includes Egypt (currently much of the gas Egypt buys from Israel via underwater pipelines, is then liquefied to be shipped to Europe on a container ship). The deal would see Israel increase its gas export to Europe via Egypt (which will also make Egypt an energy hub, a fact that has already warmed relationships between the two countries who officially made peace in 1979). While this will certainly help, the pipeline (and Egypt’s current liquidation facilities) will not be sufficient to cover Europe’s needs. Also, although Israel’s known gas reserves keep multiplying by the year, its relatively new infrastructure still needs to be developed to the point where it can supply much of that gas to the world quickly, which is expected to take a few years. Europe wants to partner with Israel to upgrade the Jewish’s states capabilities to export more gas long term for their needs. According to the EU Commission President, two “major” energy projects they are interested in seeing developed, are the world’s longest underwater pipeline (more than 1300 miles) to export their gas to Italy (via Cyprus and Greece) which would then pipe the gas to the rest of Europe (for more on that project, click here). Another pipeline may also be built in the Eastern Mediterranean to Turkey (who would then ship it to the rest of the continent). According to EU Commission President von der Leyen, such projects will help “end our dependency on Russian fossil fuels” that are used to “blackmail us”.

The implications could not be more impactful! For many years, Israel’s enemies (particularly from oil-rich Arab countries) have used their energy resources to blackmail countries into putting pressure on Israel, to the detriment of its national security. If Europe becomes increasingly dependent on Israel’s energy, it will make it harder to make unreasonable demands on the Jewish State, while Israel’s energy independence will make it less dependent on other countries, giving it has more freedom to act against threats to its security, with less fear of economic sanctions from its major trading partners. Also, because international terrorism is largely (though not entirely) paid for through the middle eastern oil trade (in the past every time one pumped gas, there was a good chance that they were unwittingly funding international terrorism) terror supporting countries have less money to distribute to terrorist groups, who have been suffering from major cash flow problems in the last few years.

Many countries around the world, especially in developing nations, have become dependent on Israeli water/agricultural technological know-how and medical research. Israel has used this leverage to build brand new relationships with countries, many of whom had not previously recognized Israel’s right to exist. Many peace deals have been signed, making the world a safer place. Now with its new energy resources, the sky’s the limit!

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.