Aphrodite-Yishai Reservoir: One-year negotiations between the gas companies – gas and oil

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and his Cypriot counterpart Natasha Philides agreed on a step towards resolving the dispute over the boundaries of the Aphrodite Yishai gas reservoir: Energy companies on both sides will negotiate directly for a year, and if by the deadline no agreements are reached – governments will decide the issue themselves.

The outline agreed upon also included intermediate goals: in the event that the companies do not reach an agreement within 180 days, the dispute will be referred to an international expert who will try to resolve the issue within another 180 days. The agreement between the companies will in any case be brought to the approval of the states.

As long as there is no agreement on the part of the companies after 360 days, including through an international expert, the issue will return to the doorstep of the countries. It is also stipulated that the states retain their right to the gas reservoirs in their territory, paying attention to comply with international law and the agreement signed between the states in the past.

Only a small part of the geological structure at the heart of the dispute is in Israel’s economic water area – this part is called the Yishai reservoir, which contains 10% of the gas reserves in the entire reservoir, according to the Ministry of Energy. The partners in the Israeli Yishai reservoir are Nammax Oil & Gas (63%) of Bnei Steinmetz, an Israeli opportunity (21%) of the partners of the investment house Hellman Aldubi, Roni Hellman and Uri Aldubi, and Aden Energy (11%) in which Natan Hetz and Dudi Wertheim are partners.

Most of the area in the reservoir is in the economic waters of Cyprus – a part known as Aphrodite / Block 12, and the rights holders in it for 25 years (with an option to extend for another decade) are the global energy giants Shell and Chevron, with 35% each, and drilling fuel with 35%.

The dispute over the database has been going on for more than a decade between the parties, and Minister Steinitz noted the scenario in which the governments will make the decision instead of the companies that “the governments of Israel and Cyprus have a common interest in developing the database as soon as possible.”