Although the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and Syria) occupy a relatively small geographic area, they represent different economic and political systems. Regional integration, particularly in the energy sector, while increasing, is complicated by the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
- While the countries of the eastern Mediterranean region produce and consume only modest quantities of energy, they occupy a strategic location in terms of regional security and prospective energy transit routes.
- Syria is the only significant oil producer in the Eastern Mediterranean, with crude oil production of an estimated 365,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) and total liquids production of 416,000 bbl/d in 2005. Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, and Lebanon import almost all of their petroleum requirements.
- The demand for natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean is growing at an exponential rate as electricity generation is converted from the more expensive fuel oil, diesel and coal. Despite moderate gas discoveries, facilitating imports from Egypt will be critical to meeting regional demand in near future.
- Demand for electricity is growing at a steady pace throughout the region. Regional interconnection could improve the collective capacity to improve service at lower costs, but may be precluded by political conflict in the near-term.
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