Will Israel be the next energy superpower?,,,,
The BBC reports on possible massive oil shale reserves in ... ISRAEL. At minimum, Israel could have 40 years of energy reserves; at maximum, it might have energy reserves comparable to ... yes ... Saudi Arabia. A major possible issue is whether a new method of heat extraction, less destructive than water-intensive hydraulic fracking, can bring the oil out without endangering the Jordan Aquifer.
Traditional geology suggests that there is no danger. But Israel's Greens are, naturally, up in arms, and Israeli courts are famously interventionist. Expect the Palestinians to chime in, too, seeking a veto over the project under cover of the aquifer issue, but really to deny Israel a Mideast economic game-changer.
Expect the Arab oil states to stir up diplomatic trouble as well. Worse, saboteurs recently blew up the Sinai pipeline for the SIXTH time this year; the pipeline supplies gas to Israel & Jordan.
If enviro-regulations stop the Keystone pipeline (Canada - US), we may need Israel's natural gas.
Bottom Line. Perhaps Moses did not, as the old joke puts it, take a wrong turn coming out of the Sinai. American, Israeli and Western security would be hugely enhanced should Israel become an energy superpower, or short of the most optimistic forecasts, any level of consequential energy export player.
Letter from the Capitol, LFTC, National Security, Foreign Policy, Economy, Conservative Politics
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