East Mediterranean gas alliance plans Gulf charm offensive

• EMGF seeks Middle Eastern capital
• Shift to infrastructure delivery
• Plans project development unit

An alliance of Mediterranean gas-producing and consuming countries is pivoting from policy dialogue to hands-on project delivery, its leader has said.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) wants to turn political coordination into investable infrastructure – and is seeking Middle Eastern capital to finance pipelines, power grids and related assets.

It particularly wants to attract investment from the Gulf states, its secretary-general, Osama Mobarez, said earlier this month at a private event in Washington DC.

“If we’re talking about projects and infrastructure, this means that we will need investments,” he said. 

“One of the things that EMGF can really make a difference with our convening power of the governments, the private sector and the regulators, is how can we attract investments even from outside the region, for instance, from the Middle East and from the Gulf?”

The forum’s members are Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, France, Greece, Israel, Italy and the Palestinian Territories. It was set up to coordinate energy policy, develop offshore gas resources and promote cooperation on exports across the eastern Mediterranean.

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The EMGF is now updating its long-term strategy. In the just completed first phase of this process, it has decided to retain gas as its core pillar, but also to enhance its reach to “power grids, renewables and what we can call adjacent sources relevant to energy”.

It has also decided to move beyond just “policies and policy frameworks” and become “a more project-oriented organisation”, Mobarez added.

“This does not mean that we are abandoning policies or policy dialogues or regulations, but really to create an impact, we need also to do things on the ground,” he said.

To reach this new goal, EMGF is setting up a project development unit, according to Mobarez.

“Its aim is not to replace the companies, to not replace the government, but … to identify projects, support the countries to package these projects in a way that can attract more investments and facilitate funding,” he said.

The EMGF will support discussions around fostering a business environment that is more “conducive” for foreign direct investment, among other tasks.