Offshore Natural Gas Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean in Relations to the European Union: A Legal Perspective Through the Lenses of Medreg
Journal of World Energy Law and Business, Oxford University Press, Volume 8, Issue 6, December 2015
11 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2015 Last revised: 30 Jan 2016
Date Written: November 24, 2015
Abstract
The Leviathan natural gas field has become a significant energy source for surrounding states in the eastern Mediterranean such as Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Jordan and Turkey. Tensions in the particular area cause this resource to be exploited on a low efficiency level both when it comes to utilization and organized cooperation between states helping their economies to benefit from the trade in this natural resource. This article analyses the current tendencies towards the expansion of the regulatory frameworks already functional in Mediterranean states west of the Levantine basin and simultaneously aims to give an assessment of these efforts. The main goal is to thoroughly evaluate the appropriateness of the existing cooperative methods and legal solutions regarding energy trade on an open market between developed states for countries with different political interests in a highly unstable area of constant sociological and political turbulence. Overcoming these challenges through legal, economic and political measures is key to the success of the eastern Mediterranean countries’ energy future, also in light of their relationship with and within the European Union (EU). It is also essential that the EU obtains increasing influence in its role in the region, in particular, that EU Member States really start acting as a whole in their external relations in general and in the energy field.
Keywords: Natural Gas, Natural Resources, Oil, Off-shore, Energy, Sustainable Development, Gas Field, Basin, Trade, Levantine, Leviathan, Levant, Eastern Mediterranean, European Union, EU, Europe, EU Internal Market, Energy Charter Treaty, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Cooperative Methods
JEL Classification: Q40, Q42, Q43, Q48, K30, K32, K33, O13, Q20, Q32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation