Israel’s natural gas reserves set to revolutionise the country’s economic status

Israel’s offshore natural gas reserves, which are larger than previously thought, could revolutionise the country’s economic status.

According to the US Geological Survey, recoverable natural gas in the Leviathan Field, 130 km off the Israeli coast, accounts to 18.9 trillion ft3.

With this find Israel, a country once with little domestic energy resources, could save billions of dollars in energy imports and become a new natural gas source for Europe.

Gas from the nearby Tamar field is expected to meet domestic demand for the next 25 years, leaving Leviathan free for export markets. Israel’s Energy Minister said that the country would keep over half of its natural gas reserves for domestic production.

There is currently an ongoing national debate over whether the recovered gas should be exported or used to safeguard the country’s descendants.

As a result of Turkey’s rapid economic growth and energy shortage, it is desperate to have a say on Israel’s gas decisions. Ankara, Turkey, previously warned Israel about signing a gas deal with Greek Cyprus – saying resources should be divided between both political entities on the island. Despite this, Israel recently signed a deal with Greece to co-operate over energy – binding them together over Leviathan.

Israel-Turkey gas pipeline

A spokesman for Delek Group, the parent company for Avner and for Delek Drilling, said the group - led by Noble Energy - was already in advanced talks with companies in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority about buying Israeli gas and building pipelines.

The talks show that the gas project is moving ahead, with prospects of eventually boosting Israel's export revenue and economic growth. They also indicate reduced tensions between Israel and Turkey. A pipeline could improve relations between the two countries, which have been poor since 2010.

A recent report, published by the US Energy Information Administration, states that territorial disputes in the eastern Mediterranean could “jeopardize joint development of potential resources in the area and could limit co-operation over potential export options.”

Edited from various sources by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/02092013/israel%E2%80%99s_natural_gas_reserves_set_to_revolutionise_the_country%E2%80%99s_economic_status/