The discovery of gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the last decade has led to quite a few territorial disputes among the nations of the region over gas extraction rights.

One such dispute is between Turkey and Cyprus over Turkey’s claim to the rights of Turkish Cyprus over nearby territorial waters.

Another is between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime boundaries. The United States has tried to mediate, but so far Hezbollah has thwarted these efforts despite a very urgent need in Lebanon for sources of income and energy. American mediator Amos Hochstein, senior advisor for energy security at the State Department, will soon travel to the region to try to advance a compromise that would allow Lebanon to explore for gas fields in its territorial waters. In an interview, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that he is optimistic. 

A third dispute is between Israel and Cyprus over a gas field, the Cypriot portion of which Cyprus calls Aphrodite and the Israeli part is known as Ishai. The field, which holds 130 billion cubic meters of natural gas, was found on the maritime border between the two nations. Most of it is within Cyprus’ territorial waters and a smaller part, 7-9%, is within Israel’s territorial waters and held by a partnership of three Israeli companies: Israel Opportunity Company, Eden Energy and Nammax.