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Israel, Saudi discuss building pipeline to connect nations

September 18, 2020 at 12:27 am

Israel plans to persuade the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to promote the construction of a pipeline between Saudi Arabia and Israel for oil and distillates for shipping, from the Mediterranean coast onto Europe and the US.

The intended construction plans to use the existing infrastructure of the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Co. Ltd. (EAPC). Such a plan would financially benefit Israel and be cheaper and safer for the Gulf states, by bypassing dangerous sea routes and the costly Suez Canal, Israel’s The Globes newspaper reported.

This project would shorten the time and cost of shipping oil and distillates from the Gulf to the West via the Suez Canal, while Israel could earn an estimated several hundred million US dollars per year.

“For Saudi Arabia and the Gulf state it would reduce dependence on the perilous sea routes around the Straits of Hormuz and Yemen which are vulnerable to attacks from Iran,” reported The Globes.

The paper noted that the normalisation agreement signed between Israel and Bahrain on Tuesday hinted at such a project by emphasising energy as a key area of cooperation.

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