oneworldtalk

Israel would not want to be dependent on Palestine oil nor would it like to help them economically which ironically may steer them away from military attacks and terrorism once the basic living has been addressed. Strange logic.

http://www.oilandgasinvestingglossary.c ... oubles.asp

Excerpts quoted :

Palestine’s Claim to the Mediterranean Sea

In the late 1990s, the Palestinian government was able to secure an agreement with British Gas that allowed them to begin drilling for natural gas and oil in the Mediterranean Sea. After years of drilling and exploration, Palestine was rewarded with an oil reserve 22 miles off of the coast of the Gaza Strip. The entire country was excited by this natural mineral that would hopefully provide them with the economic freedom and financial stability they desired. Unfortunately, the financial success did not come directly on the heels of their discovery.

International instability and internal political strife has made it extremely difficult for Palestinian officials to utilize their newfound resource. In 2005 Israel delivered a major blow to the Palestinians fledgling oil industry by choosing to import natural gas from Egypt. By doing this, Israel completely bypassed its neighbor in favor of making a political statement. The Israeli government feared that any money given to Palestine would be later used to fund acts of terrorism against Israel.

What Could Have Been a Flourishing Natural Gas Industry for Palestine

This deal completely destroyed Palestine’s early plans to establish a flourishing gas industry in Gaza that would create many much needed jobs and earn the Palestinian government millions in taxes. The millions the government planned to receive were based on the Gaza Marine field containing 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Many experts and Triple Diamond Energy Corp. believe that this reserve would be able to amply cover all of Palestine’s energy needs with much left over to be used for trade.

In an effort to recover from the setback caused by the Israeli’s deal with Egypt, the Palestinian government decided to work with British Gas to put their newfound resources to work. British Gas began working on a deal with Egypt that would allow 1.5 billion cubic yards of natural gas to be exported for 50 years through a Gaza-E Arish pipeline. This deal would have meant economic growth for Palestine, but this time it was the British government that caused the setback.

One More Chance Ends in Abandoned Hope

The British Prime Minister serving at the time of the proposal determined that British Gas should allow Israel to have one more chance at reaching an agreement with its neighbor Palestine. The Prime Minister reasoned that the Palestinian gas recourses would be more than sufficient to supply Israel’s growing need.

Israel would still not agree to reach any sort of compromise with Palestine and the hope of a deal was finally abandoned. In an effort to once again try to get use out of the natural resources available Palestine and British Gas are once again trying to reach an agreement with Egypt that will be beneficial to all parties.