Russians eye Israel's natural gas

[Chris]

Russians eye Israel's natural gas - UPI.com

Russians eye Israel's natural gas
Published: Nov. 19, 2010 at 7:36 AM

MOSCOW, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Russian gas monopoly Gazprom aims to set up a joint venture with Israel to explore the country's continental shelf, a top executive said. Preliminary estimates indicate the Leviathan prospect about 84 miles off the northern coast of Israel holds as much as 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The potential at Leviathan follows the 2009 discovery of the Tamar gas field off the Israeli coast, which holds around 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Stanislav Tsygankov, a foreign relations executive at Gazprom, was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying the gas monopoly wants a 50 percent claim in any Israeli deal. "We are planning to establish a joint venture where Gazprom will participate in the shelf's development," he said. "We are planning to buy a 50 percent stake." Lebanon contends that a portion of Leviathan lies within its maritime borders. Hezbollah has told Israel not to touch its resources, spurring threats of retaliation from the Israelis.

[Chris]

Russia is very likely to be interested in Israel's natural gas because the Russians have been using natural gas as a political weapon against the EU recently. I'm sure we all remember the reports there were about the EU running out of gas because Russia closed off the valves. The Israelis on the otherhand would be a much more politically stable source of natural gas than the mean ole Russkies. If Israel was smart, they'd get way away from Russia per Ezekiel 38-39. I wonder if this could be one of the future "spoils" that Russia is looking for. The natural gas Russia uses for leverage against Europe would be gone and mother Russia is not going to like that very much.

[micah719]

Hmmm, this reminds me of when Hezekiah showed the emissaries of Babylon the treasures of the Temple....is this the bit where Israel cast the baited hook out into the water where Gog lurks? If so, a well named project...Leviathan. Does Leviathan mean Levi-athan, companion of trouble?

[Chris]

Hmmm, this reminds me of when Hezekiah showed the emissaries of Babylon the treasures of the Temple....is this the bit where Israel cast the baited hook out into the water where Gog lurks? If so, a well named project...Leviathan. Does Leviathan mean Levi-athan, companion of trouble?

Probably so. Energy is the trump card for Russia right now and how the project themselves in the world. I would bet that the EU would rather buy from Israel than Russia, seeing how the Russkies have not played nice in the past. I do think it is a companion of trouble, plus if you mix this with the oil and Dead Sea, there's enormous wealth in Israel. Sounds like the spoils of Ezekiel 38-39 to me. At least it could be.

[micah719]

Hmmm, this reminds me of when Hezekiah showed the emissaries of Babylon the treasures of the Temple....is this the bit where Israel cast the baited hook out into the water where Gog lurks? If so, a well named project...Leviathan. Does Leviathan mean Levi-athan, companion of trouble?

Sorry, I realised as I was drifting into sleep last night that "Achan" was the troubler, not "athan"....so I'm digging for the meaning of that. That "Levi" means companion I am sure of.

[manta]

Probably so. Energy is the trump card for Russia right now and how the project themselves in the world. I would bet that the EU would rather buy from Israel than Russia, seeing how the Russkies have not played nice in the past. I do think it is a companion of trouble, plus if you mix this with the oil and Dead Sea, there's enormous wealth in Israel. Sounds like the spoils of Ezekiel 38-39 to me. At least it could be.

I heard someone once suggest that the Russians will be coming for food. Israel's agriculture exports are doing well and they have used drip irrigation to turn arid land into farmland.
Meanwhile, Russia is still reeling from a wicked heat wave and low crop yield. If this continues in future years, this idea may hold water, especially given how much more land Israel will have by then to produce even more food.

Ezekiel 38:13
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages[e] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”

[myinnuendo999]

Hmmm, this reminds me of when Hezekiah showed the emissaries of Babylon the treasures of the Temple....is this the bit where Israel cast the baited hook out into the water where Gog lurks? If so, a well named project...Leviathan. Does Leviathan mean Levi-athan, companion of trouble?

Amazing gems you're possibly finding and digging up Chris

[micah719]

Hmmm, this reminds me of when Hezekiah showed the emissaries of Babylon the treasures of the Temple....is this the bit where Israel cast the baited hook out into the water where Gog lurks? If so, a well named project...Leviathan. Does Leviathan mean Levi-athan, companion of trouble?

Ok, the rabbit trail was a false one, my speculation about the hebrew meaning of leviathan has exposed my ignorance. Please forgive me and wipe my foolishness from the memory banks.

[ronen]

leviathan means whale
i wasnt aware that the word levi means anything
but than again im not aware of many things

[myinnuendo999]

sorry about that micah cause you and Chris blended together and I got you 2 mixed up. Still, awesome posts