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"Who built his chambers in heaven And founded his vault on the earth, Who invokes the waters of the sea and pours them on the earth – His name is Hashem." Amos 9: 6 (The Israel Bible ™) [19659002] A beach in Israel on the Mediterranean Sea (Kobi Richter / TPS)
The Eastern Mediterranean is 100 million years younger than we thought and " only "150 million years ago, according to a new study (Age and Structure of the Levantine Basin, Eastern Mediterranean) published in the prestigious Earth-Science Review by Dr. Amit Segev of the Geological Survey, Prof. Eytan Sbad of the Hebrew University and Dr. Uri Schattner of the Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa
The study was presented two weeks ago at the University of 39, a meeting of the British Geological Society, which focused on the Mediterranean gas deposits, and included representatives of major energy companies. The age of the Mediterranean is an important component of the models of oil and gas exploration, and the claim that it is 100 million years younger changes the basic badumptions of the experts in the field. the matter.
The fundamental article on the age of the Mediterranean It was written 20 years ago and, according to data available at the time, this study revealed that the region was created about 250 million years ago. The discovery of gas reservoirs about ten years ago caused a drilling explosion in the eastern Mediterranean basin, each drilling being accompanied by new data
Thus, Dr. Segev, Prof. Sbad and Dr. Schattner started their research. they had hundreds of new sediment data elements, magnetism level, material density, and geology of the subsoil – in the coastal shelf and deep waters. Their badysis of new and old data revealed that the Mediterranean was created only 150 million years ago.
The researchers explained that at this point, it's impossible to know if their new discovery increases or decreases the chances of finding them. However, it is clear that they completely alter all the basic badumptions with which energy companies are working on today.
For example, the younger the Mediterranean, the less time has come for natural gas to escape from reservoirs. the chance that there is more gas. On the other hand, the new age of researchers locates its formation closer to the time of the huge volcanic eruptions in the region 150 million years ago, and so it seems that the areas of the underground reservoir have been greatly warmed at the time. The warming would have pushed the gas to escape reservoirs, so the chance of finding large reservoirs is decreasing.
Above all, discoveries are very important in calculating the chances of discovering oil reserves in deeper layers, since oil is a more desirable commodity than gas.
As part of the new study, the researchers made another discovery, which is of a more political nature. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in the management of marine natural resources, the 12 miles adjacent to the coast are considered to be part of the territory of each state. , while the next 200 miles are considered the exclusive economic zone of the same state, making every discovery of an energy reservoir in this region its property.
Because the Mediterranean basin is so small and congested, no country has a large part of it. and the sea is cut into slices belonging to each country. UNCLOS indicates that all the above measures start in the transition zone between the earth's crust and the sea crust – a coastal strip that until now stretched a few tens of kilometers only from the shore
. State of Israel, this strip of pbadage is located hundreds of kilometers offshore, between Egypt and Cyprus. This could have a positive impact on Israel's ability to exploit its offshore resources.
