JERUSALEM — Leaders in Israel and Turkey envision a network of four underwater pipelines for transporting Russian oil and natural gas, with feeder lines to Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon.

The joint Turkish-Israeli development plan holds the promise of accelerating economic growth in the Middle East. A $50 million feasibility study is financed by the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank, officials from Turkey and Israel say.

India is a main backer of the proposed network of pipelines because of the energy needs of its fast-growing economy.

Delivery of oil and natural gas by means of pipelines that traverse Turkey and Israel through conduits beneath the eastern Mediterranean is considered more practical than an overland route across turbulent Central Asia.

“Turkey gets most of its natural gas from Russia,” said Gabriel Levy, a senior official at the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure here, noting that a pipeline conveys the gas beneath the Black Sea to Ankara, the Turkish capital. “Russia and Turkey decided they should have another customer.”

Israel would be a major beneficiary of a pipeline network, Mr. Levy said. He predicted that by 2010, 40 percent of Israel’s energy needs will be filled by imported natural gas.
washingtontimes.com

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