Resources in conflict

The discovery of vast oil and gas reserves under the eastern Mediterranean seabed presents a new set of security problems in one of the most volatile corners of the world. Among them is the issue of divided Cyprus: the Turkish Republic of Cyprus has already warned its Greek competitor not to begin drilling for oil and gas before the unity of the island is resolved. But it is the potential dispute between Lebanon and Israel that has drawn most international attention — and apprehension. Israel has moved much more quickly than Lebanon in tapping its potential oil and gas wealth, parceling up some 9,600 square kilometers off its northern coastline in a series of licensed exploration blocks. However, the problem lies in the differences between the proposed boundary lines marking the extent of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) — the area a state can claim for resource purposes — of