A huge gas field has been discovered in the Mediterranean Sea, its areas touching areas of Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus. The struggle for such a large resource will lead to an aggravation of the situation in the region, experts predict; in addition, the discovery will affect Russian positions in the market.

A giant gas deposit comparable to Algeria's reserves has been found in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the latest data, there is up to 3.5 trillion cubic meters of gas in the offshore sectors adjacent to Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus. For comparison, Algeria has 4.5 trillion cubic meters. As experts note, such a significant deposit and the struggle for control over it could lead to increased tension in the region. However, the EU countries will not allow a conflict - they are interested in increasing gas supplies to Europe, says Sergei Pravosudov, Director General of the Institute of National Energy.

“The discovery of a deposit close to Europe suggests that energy independence will nevertheless increase,” admits Pravosudov. “The fact is that the discovered deposits that are currently being exploited have all already entered the stage of declining production. In such conditions , of course, this may delay the development of deposits for a certain period precisely because of the conflict between these countries. But, most likely, some mutually beneficial form will be found, that is, relatively speaking, they will be divided into sectors, the European Commission will be involved, for all countries. There will be some deductions. Because it is clear that Europe is interested, and it will try to resolve this issue as much as possible."

If gas supplies from the Mediterranean Sea to Europe are established, this will greatly affect Russia’s position, says Vitaly Kryukov, an oil and gas analyst at IG Capital.

“It’s a very large project, and in principle, gas supplies there could grow very much, and Russian gas could lose out here, because the transport leverage when supplying gas from the Mediterranean Sea will be smaller, and the competitiveness of such a project can be high,” explains Kryukov, “ “Therefore, the position of Russian gas in this case does not seem to be stronger, and supplies may decrease. We see that there are a lot of companies operating in the Mediterranean Sea and many who want to participate in large projects. I don’t think that Russia will be chosen as a priority here.” .

The first country in the region to begin developing gas in the eastern Mediterranean was Israel. The state is currently negotiating with a number of countries, including Russia, about joint gas production off their coasts.

"Russian gas may lose here"