Free Republic

Cyprus' deputy government spokesman says the Cabinet has ratified a preliminary agreement with U.S. firm Noble Energy and its Israeli partners Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration on their participation in the development of a planned natural gas processing facility. Victoras Papadopoulos didn't disclose Wednesday details of the deal. Cyprus is looking to have the estimated 10 billion euro ($13.41 billion) facility up by 2020 to process offshore gas reserves for domestic use and export. The bailed-out country hopes the project will boost its struggling economy. Noble, Delek and its subsidiary Avner are partners in a gas field off Cyprus'...

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 9 (UPI) -- Israel's rapprochement with onetime strategic ally Turkey is a vital element in Ankara's drive to become the intercontinental east-west energy hub in the Mediterranean and many expect it to produce an energy alliance that will transform the region. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan has, since taking power in 2002, transformed his country's economic prospects through a wide-ranging diplomatic drive aimed at restoring Turkish leadership in the region. He has long sought to transform Turkey, which has no energy resources of its own, into the unassailable central hub for transporting oil and gas...