On Tuesday, Israel’s Europe Asia Pipeline Co (EAPC) said it had inked a binding MoU with UAE-based MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd to cooperate in crude oil shipping via an oil pipeline linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. According to analysts, the contract could be worth $700 million-$800 million if realized over the next couple of years, making it the largest deal since both nations signed the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement to normalize relationships in August.
MED-RED Land Bridge is a consortium consisting of Emirati and Israeli firms. EAPC said that the deal signed on Monday also included shipping crude and oil products from the Persian Gulf to Western markets as well as oil from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to Asian markets.
State-controlled EAPC operates a 600,000-bpd pipeline that runs from the Red Sea city of Eilat to the Ashkelon port in the Mediterranean. The pipeline is also integrated with nearly 23 million barrels of storage capacity. It offers a quicker and cheaper alternative than shipping oil via the Suez Canal.
Israel and Iran jointly constructed the pipeline in the 1960s. It used to ship Iranian crude oil to Europe. After the two countries became enemies following Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, Israel continued to allow Tehran to export its oil through the pipeline in secret for several years. Iran is still pursuing compensation after Israel seized its 50% interest. The Israeli military treats the pipeline operation as top secret. It can censor information on what flows through the pipeline until today.
Tags: AlwaysFree,Crude Oil,English,Middle East,UAE
Published on October 22, 2020 6:28 PM (GMT+8)Last Updated on October 22, 2020 6:28 PM (GMT+8)
