Israel sends Navy to escort drilling rig in disputed gas field
At a time when the world’s gas supply is having to catch up with demand, two prospective gas majors in the eastern Mediterranean have locked horns over a disputed field that could delay the development of local resources. Israel and Lebanon have been at odds about their maritime border ever since gas was found.
The focus of the rift is an offshore field called Karish. According to Israel, Karish lies in its territorial waters. According to Lebanon, it falls within a triangle of contested waters because the two cannot agree where exactly the border passes.
This weekend, UK’s Energean, which has been awarded the right to drill at Karish, arrived on the site with a rig, prompting an immediate reaction from Beirut. The Lebanese president and the caretaker prime minister of the country accused Israel of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The Lebanese side also says the Israeli armed forces accompanying the rig on its trip to Karish have sent battleships to the field even though the drilling rig has yet to be connected to the deposit, Israel’s Haaretz reported this week.
Israel, on the other hand, has warned early on that any damage to the drilling rig in Karish—like attacks on any gas drilling rigs in its waters—will be construed as an attack on the state, implying there will be an immediate reaction.
