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Natural gas in Israel

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Noa natural gas field, offshore Ashkelon

Natural gas in Israel is the country's primary energy source for electricity production. Israel began producing natural gas from its own offshore gas fields in 2004. Between 2005 and 2012, Israel imported gas from Egypt via the al-Arish-Ashkelon pipeline, an arrangement that ended due to Egyptian Crisis of 2011-14. In 2017, Israel was producing over 9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas a year.[1] Israel had 1,087 billion cubic meters (cu m) of proven reserves of natural gas as of 2022.[2] In early 2017, Israel began exporting natural gas to the Kingdom of Jordan.

History

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Israeli natural gas lines network map
Consumption of fossil fuel energy sources in Israel since 1980. Coal consumption rose steadily since 1980 when it was negligible. Natural gas consumption was nearly zero in 2003 and has risen steadily since.

Historically, Israel relied on external imports for meeting most of its energy needs, spending an amount equivalent to over 5% of its GDP per year in 2009 on imports of energy products.[3] The transportation sector relies mainly on gasoline and diesel fuel, while the majority of electricity production was generated using imported coal. As of 2013, Israel was importing about 100 million barrels of oil per year.[4] The country possesses negligible reserves of crude oil but does have abundant domestic natural gas resources which were discovered in large quantities starting in 2009, after many decades of previously unsuccessful exploration.[5][6][7][8][9]

Until the early 2000s, natural gas use in Israel was minimal. In the late 1990s, the government of Israel decided to encourage the usage of natural gas because of environmental, cost, and resource diversification reasons. At the time however, there were no domestic sources of natural gas and the expectation was that gas would be supplied from overseas in the form of LNG and by a future pipeline from Egypt (which eventually became the Arish–Ashkelon pipeline). Plans were made for the Israel Electric Corporation to construct several gas-driven power plants, for erecting a national gas distribution grid, and for an LNG import terminal. Soon thereafter, gas began to be located within Israeli territory, first in modest amounts and a decade later in very large quantities located in deep water off the Israeli coastline. This has greatly intensified the utilization of natural gas within the Israeli economy, especially in the electrical generation and industrial sectors, with consumption growing from an annual average of 9,900,000 m3 (350×10^6 cu ft) between 2000 and 2002 to 3.7×109 m3 (129×10^9 cu ft) in 2010.[6]

In 2023 Cyprus and Israel were working on a deal to create a natural gas pipeline between the two countries, whereas Israeli natural gas would be liquified and exported to Europe. The American energy company Chevron is reportedly interested in the potential pipeline, which would be 320-kilometer (200-mile) in length and estimated to cost 450 million euros ($489 million), while the liquefaction plant would cost 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).[10][11] The pipeline would take about two and a half years to build.[12]

Natural Gas Usage in Israel[13][14]
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
1.2 1.6 2.3 2.7 3.7 4.2 5.2 5 2.6 6.9 7.6 8.4 9.7 10.3 11.1 11.3
Figures are in Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) per year

Discoveries in the 2000s

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Proved reserves of natural gas in Israel
Production of natural gas in Israel, 1980-2012 (US Energy Information Administration)

In 2000, a 33-billion-cubic-metre (BCM), or 1,200-billion-cubic-foot, natural-gas field was discovered off the coast of Ashkelon, with commercial production starting in 2004. As of 2014 however, this field is nearly depleted—earlier than expected due to increased pumping to partially compensate for the loss of imported Egyptian gas in the wake of unrest associated with the fall of the Mubarak regime in 2011. In 2009, a significant gas find named Tamar, with proven reserves of 223 BCM or 7.9×10^12 cu ft (307 BCM total proven + probable) was located in deep water approximately 90 km (60 mi) west of Haifa, as well as a smaller 15 BCM (530×10^9 cu ft) field situated nearer the coastline.[15][16][17][18] Furthermore, results of 3D seismic surveys and test drilling conducted since 2010 have confirmed that an estimated 621 BCM (21.9×10^12 cu ft) natural-gas deposit exists in a large underwater geological formation nearby the large gas field already discovered in 2009.[19][20][21][22] The US Energy Information Administration listed Israel as having 6.2 trillion cubic feet of proved reserves as of 1 January 2015.[23]

The discoveries of natural gas confirmed that the Levant basin of the Eastern Mediterranean contains significant quantities of natural gas. Consequently, additional exploration for gas off Israel's coastline is continuing.[8][24] In early 2012 the Israeli cabinet announced plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund (called "the Israeli Citizens' Fund") that would allocate part of the royalties from energy exploration to education, defense and overseas investments.[25]

The Tamar field began commercial production on 30 March 2013 after four years of extensive development.[26] The supply of gas from Tamar is expected to provide a boost to the Israeli economy, which has suffered losses of more than NIS20 billion between 2011 and 2013 resulting from the disruption of gas supplies from neighboring Egypt (and which are not expected to resume due to Egypt's decision to indefinitely suspend its gas supply agreement to Israel).[27][28] As a result, Israel, as well as its other neighbor Jordan, which also suffered from disruption of gas deliveries from Egypt, had to resort to importing significantly more expensive and polluting liquid heavy fuels as substitute sources of energy. The ensuing energy crisis in Israel was lifted once the Tamar field came online in 2013, while Jordan committed to a US$10 billion, 15-year gas supply deal totaling 45 BCM from the Israeli Leviathan field, which came online in late 2019.[29] The agreement is estimated to save Jordan US$600 million per year in energy costs.[30]

In 2018, the owners of the Tamar and Leviathan fields announced that they were negotiating an agreement with a consortium of Egyptian firms, subject to regulatory approval in both countries, for the supply of up to 64 BCM of gas over 10 years valued at up to US$15 billion. Although Egypt has been making strides in developing new gas fields to meet rising domestic demand, it also had idle LNG exporting capacity.[31][32]

In late October 2022, Energean started gas production from the Karish field.[33] In late November 2022 Energean announced a new commercial natural gas discovery of 13 billion cubic meters off the shore of Israel as a result of its exploratory drilling well dubbed Zeus.[34]

Field[35] Discovered Production Estimated size (cubic feet) bcm
Noa North 1999 2012 to 2014 50 bcf; field depleted[36]
Mari-B 2000 2004 to 2015 1 tcf; field depleted[37][38]
Tamar 2009 2013 10.8 tcf (trillion cubic feet)[18]
Dalit 2009 Not in production 700 bcf (billion cubic feet)[39]
Leviathan 2010 2019 22 tcf[40]
Dolphin 2011 Not in production 81.3 bcf[41]
Tanin 2012 Not in production 1.2–1.3 tcf[42]
Karish 2013 2022 2.3–3.6 tcf[43]
Zeus 2022 Not in production 0.46 tcf[44] 13
Athena 2022 Not in production 0.41 tcf[45] 11.75
Hermes 2022 Not in production 0.53 tcf[46] 15
Katlan 2022 Not in production 2.4 tcf[47][48] 68

Power stations

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List of Natural gas-fired power stations in Israel:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ CIA. The World Factbook. Natural gas - production.
  2. ^ Yawen Chen. "Israel's fossil fuel boon becomes less clear-cut". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  3. ^ Asa-El, Amotz (27 January 2009). "Gas discovery tempers Israeli recession blues". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  4. ^ Israel's Key Energy Statistics - Energy Information Administration site
  5. ^ Buck, Tobias (31 August 2012). "Field of dreams: Israel's natural gas". Financial Times Magazine. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  6. ^ a b "Oil and natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean region (summer 2013 report)". U.S. Energy Information Administration. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  7. ^ Levinson, Charles; Chazan, Guy (30 December 2010). "Big Gas Find Sparks a Frenzy in Israel". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  8. ^ a b Bar-Eli, Avi (26 April 2011). "400 Drills in 60 Years: Is there Oil in Israel?". TheMarker (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  9. ^ Udasin, Sharon (3 July 2012). "New Natural Gas Wealth Means Historic Change for Israel". National Geographic News. part of "The Great Energy Challenge" series. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
  10. ^ "Cyprus Speeds Up Efforts to Build Natural Gas Link With Israel". Bloomberg.com. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  11. ^ AP. "Minister: Chevron 'positive' about Israeli-Cypriot plans for natural gas pipeline". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  12. ^ "Cyprus, Israel working on deal for natural gas pipeline, processing plant in Cyprus". Federal News Network. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  13. ^ "Delivery System". Israel Natural Gas Lines, Ltd. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  14. ^ "Consumption and Demand - גז טבעי - נתיבי הגז הטבעי לישראל המערכת הארצית להולכת גז טבעי". Israel Natural Gas Lines. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  15. ^ "Delek Group Subsidiaries Announce Preliminary Results of 3D Seismic Survey & Updates on Tamar & Mari-B Fields" (Press release). Delek Group. 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  16. ^ Bar-Eli, Avi (12 August 2009). "Tamar offshore field promises even more gas than expected". Haaretz. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  17. ^ Scheer, Steven (3 June 2010). "Noble increases Tamar gas reserve estimate 15 pct". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  18. ^ a b "Tamar Reserves Update". Isramco Negev 2, LP. 1 February 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  19. ^ Solomon, Shoshanna; Khan, Sarmad (13 July 2014). "Israel Shares Rise as Gas Field Reserves Are Increased". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  20. ^ "Noble Energy Announces Successful Leviathan Appraisal Results and Increases Resource Size" (Press release). Noble Energy. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  21. ^ "Significant Discovery Announced at Leviathan-1" (Press release). Delek Group. 29 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  22. ^ Barkat, Amiram; Koren, Hillel (1 May 2013). "Leviathan gas reserves raised again". Globes. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  23. ^ US Energy Information Administration, Natural gas proved reserves, 2015.
  24. ^ Zeno, Lior (10 May 2011). "Two Weeks' Postponement in Pelagic's Drilling License Approval". TheMarker. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  25. ^ Shemer, Nadav; Udasin, Sharon (19 February 2012). "Cabinet outlines plan for sovereign wealth fund". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  26. ^ Solomon, Shoshanna; Ackerman, Gwen (30 March 2013). "Israel Begins Gas Production at Tamar Field in Boost to Economy". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  27. ^ Barkat, Amiram (24 December 2013). "Israel in talks to export gas via Egypt". Globes. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  28. ^ Barkat, Amiram (30 March 2013). עצמאות אנרגטית: החלה הזרמת הגז הטבעי ממאגר "תמר"; צפוי להגיע לישראל תוך 24 שעות [Energy Independence: Gas from Tamar Expected to Arrive in 24 Hours]. Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  29. ^ "Leviathan partners say all conditions met to supply natgas to Jordan". Reuters. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  30. ^ Omari, Raed (8 March 2018). "'Lands for Israel gas pipeline acquired'". The Jordan Times. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  31. ^ "Israel announces major gas deal with Egypt". Deutsche Welle. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  32. ^ "Oil & Natural Gas in Israel". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  33. ^ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Gas Production Starts At Karish Field Off Israel: Energy Firm". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  34. ^ "Energean finds 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas off Israel's shore". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  35. ^ "Israel's Natural Gas Bonanza". Energy Tribune. 5 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  36. ^ Beckwith, Robin (2011). "Israel's Gas Bonanza". Journal of Petroleum Technology. 63 (3): 46–49. doi:10.2118/0311-0046-JPT. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  37. ^ "Natural Gas Discoveries and Israel's Energy Security". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  38. ^ "Oil & Natural Gas in Israel". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  39. ^ "New Israel find for Noble Energy". Upstream Online | Latest oil and gas news. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  40. ^ "Israel to start pumping gas from Leviathan, making country an energy powerhouse". Times of Israel. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  41. ^ Yeshayahou, Koby (12 February 2012). "Dolphin gas field estimate cut by 85%". Globes. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  42. ^ "Delek, Noble Energy discover gas at Tanin well - Globes". en.globes.co.il. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  43. ^ "Israel's Karish Offshore Gas Field: Facts and Figures". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  44. ^ "Energean drilling programme discovers more gas off Israel". Reuters. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  45. ^ "Energean Makes Commercial Gas Discovery at Zeus; Upgrades Athena Resources". www.ogv.energy. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  46. ^ "Energean makes commercial gas discovery at Hermes well offshore Israel". www.spglobal.com. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  47. ^ "Israel officially recognizes Energean's Katlan reservoir as natural gas discovery | The Times of Israel". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  48. ^ "Israel announces new natural gas field off its coast - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
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