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Negotiations take place in Naqoura, UNIFIL headquarters (photo: NNA)
ISRAEL / LEBANON. The third round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon concerning their maritime borders did not yield anything. Organized on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 in the southern Lebanese border town of Naqoura (UNIFIL headquarters), under the auspices of the United Nations and the United States, these negotiations should theoretically reduce the tension between Lebanon and Israel over the exploitation of the huge offshore gas fields in the region.
During the first two meetings (October 14 and 28/29, 2020), discussions between the two countries still at war focused on a disputed area of 860 km², where Lebanon has already signed in 2018 with ENI, Total and Novatek an exploration contract.
For the third round, Lebanon added part of the Karish gas field, a 1,430 km² site already exploited by Israel, to arrive in total to a claimed exclusive economic zone of 2,290 km².
Like Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, Lebanon is claiming its share of the gigantic gas cake that constitutes the Eastern Mediterranean submarine shelf.
A fourth meeting is to be held on December 2, 2020.
During the first two meetings (October 14 and 28/29, 2020), discussions between the two countries still at war focused on a disputed area of 860 km², where Lebanon has already signed in 2018 with ENI, Total and Novatek an exploration contract.
For the third round, Lebanon added part of the Karish gas field, a 1,430 km² site already exploited by Israel, to arrive in total to a claimed exclusive economic zone of 2,290 km².
Like Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, Lebanon is claiming its share of the gigantic gas cake that constitutes the Eastern Mediterranean submarine shelf.
A fourth meeting is to be held on December 2, 2020.
