East Med rides the waves

Egypt, Israel and Cyprus all saw progress in their ambitions to develop the prodigious East Med basin in 2018

The one-time backwater that was the East Med continued its transformation into one of the world's most prospective natural gas areas in 2018, with Egypt pushing the envelope through major projects and Israel also looking to get in on the act with a bold plan to send gas to its neighbour—and one-time supplier—Egypt. Italy's Eni, which discovered the giant Zohr field, which contains some 30 tr cf of gas, was reported earlier in the year to be preparing to carry out exploratory drilling at the Noor field, off Sinai, amid speculation that another Zohr-size discovery was in the offing. Interest in Egypt piqued as a result of the increasingly attractive terms on offer to international firms. This