Israeli Ministry Won't Allow Oil Tankers to Enter Red Sea Resort, Potentially Blocking UAE Pipeline Deal

Ari Rabinovitch
Friday, December 17, 2021

Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said on Thursday that it would not allow oil tankers to enter its Red Sea resort of Eilat as planned under a deal with partners from the United Arab Emirates to transport crude from the Gulf to Europe via Israel.

The announcement could lead to the cancellation of the deal, one of the biggest to emerge from the normalization of ties between Israel and the UAE last year. Environmentalists had petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to block the agreement.

Signed between an Israeli state-owned company and a venture with Emirati and Israeli owners, the deal allows for oil unloaded from tankers in the Red Sea port of Eilat to be moved across Israel in an existing pipeline to the Mediterranean coast.

Responding on Thursday to the Supreme Court petition, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government said it would not intervene and would instead allow the Environmental Protection Ministry to play its regulatory role limiting activities that pose ecological risks.

"We blocked the entry of dozens of oil tankers into the Gulf of Eilat," Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said in a statement, adding that Israel "will not become a bridge of pollution in an era of climate crisis".

Israel's energy minister had previously come out against the deal, citing ecological risks to Eilat's fragile coral reefs.

The Israeli state-owned company involved in the deal, Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC), said the deal has "significant geopolitical and economic advantages for Israel and its citizens."

EAPC said it was committed to protecting the environment and would continue its dialogue with the Environmental Protection Ministry over its pipeline activities.

The other company involved in the deal, MED-RED Land Bridge, did not immediately provide a comment. 

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Diane Craft and Howard Goller)

Categories: Coastal/Inland Pipelines Oil Tankers

Related Stories

TVO Selects Collins to Head Australian Ops

Eni Strengthens LNG Ties with Japan

MacArtney Asia Named Regional Reseller for Select Teledyne Products

Joint Venture Partners Ink Commercial Deals to Develop Gas Reserves at Azerbaijan’s ACG Field

Oil Loadings at Russia's Western Ports on the Rise

Santos Pens Mid-Term LNG Supply Deal

Transocean Scoops $123M Drillship Deal in India

1.1 GW Floating Offshore Wind Farm earns Key Approval

IK Group Spins Off Norclamp

Izomax Wins a Milestone Contract with Shell

Current News

Offshore Service Vessels: What’s in Store in 2025

ABS Approves Hanwha Ocean’s FPSO Design

AI & Offshore Energy: The Higher the Stakes, the More Value AI Creates

Floating LNG Conversion Job Slips Out of Seatrium’s Hands

Transocean’s Drillship to Stay in India Under New $111M Deal

INEOS Picks Up CNOOC’s US Assets in $2B Deal

Sunda Energy, Timor-Leste Gov Plan Accelerated Chuditch Gas Development

RINA to Conduct Pre-FEED Study for Petronas’ CCS Project in Malaysia

TotalEnergies Wraps Up Acquisition of SapuraOMV’s Gas Assets

Kuwaiti Oil and Gas Firm Exploring More Opportunities in Indonesia's Natuna Sea

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com