Two Palestinian guards stand watch at the Gaza docks in preparation for the visit of President Yasser Arafat who is symbolically igniting the Palestinians’ first offshore gas well September 27, 2000. The project with BG International is in the testing stages to determine flow rates, but up to five development wells will be drilled, bringing gas onshore by at least 2003. Palestinians want to use the gas mostly for power generation, now reliant on Israel, and hope to have some left over to export.

AJ/CRB – RTR8PUM