<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2722.2800" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thought this was interesting.  Maybe another reason for the incredibly provocative behavior of the Israelis.  Other than tanking the market for Gore and the water situation.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <P><FONT color=#003399 face=arial,geneva size=2>Oil & Gas News: Archived Story<BR></FONT><FONT color=#990000 face=Georgia,Times><FONT size=+2>BG Shelves Gaza Drilling Plans</FONT><BR><FONT size=+1></FONT></FONT> <P><FONT face=Georgia,Times size=3><FONT size=+1>JERUSALEM, Oct 25 (energy24.com) - Reports state that BG Group Plc has shelved plans to drill a second region off the Gaza Strip. </FONT> <P> <TABLE border=0 cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=2 width="100%"> <TBODY> <TR vAlign=top> <TD background=/images/hr_dot_bg.gif bgColor=#999999 colSpan=2><IMG alt=...... border=0 height=1 src="http://www.slb.com/images/odot.gif" width=265></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD><FONT color=#003399 face=Arial,Geneva size=2><IMG alt=* border=0 height=9 src="http://www.slb.com/images/li.gif" width=9> <A href="http://www.slb.com/print_story.cfm?baid=1&storyid=113558&printable=1">Printer-friendly version</A> </FONT></TD> <TD><FONT color=#003399 face=Arial,Geneva size=2><IMG alt=* border=0 height=9 src="http://www.slb.com/images/li.gif" width=9> <A href="http://www.slb.com/emailstory.cfm?storyid=113558">E-mail to colleagues</A> </FONT></TD></TR> <TR vAlign=top> <TD background=/images/hr_dot_bg.gif bgColor=#999999 colSpan=2><IMG alt=...... border=0 height=1 src="http://www.slb.com/images/odot.gif" width=265></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <P> <P>Although BG would not offer a reason for the change in position, Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper, cited Middle East tension as the underlying factor. The company reputedly feared the loss of Israel as a marketplace, if it pursued the Gaza drilling. <P>The Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, aims to establish its own gas industry. <P>In September, BG made the first discovery of natgas in the seabed adjacent to the Gaza Strip. However, the region, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, aims to establish its own gas industry. <P>BG already operates in Israel and Egypt. <TABLE border=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"> <TBODY> <TR align=right vAlign=top> <TD>  </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>