Natural gas in Israel explained

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 arrangment 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

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 is 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 350abbr=onNaNabbr=on between 2000 and 2002 to 129abbr=onNaNabbr=on 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
1.21.62.32.73.74.25.252.66.97.68.49.710.311.111.3
Figures are in Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) per year

Discoveries in the 2000s

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. 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 223e9m3 (307 BCM total proven + probable) was located in deep water approximately 90-1NaN-1 west of Haifa, as well as a smaller 15 BCM (15e9m3) 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 (621e9m3) 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] DiscoveredProductionEstimated size (cubic feet)bcm
Noa North1999 2012 to 201450 bcf; field depleted[36]
Mari-B20002004 to 20151 tcf; field depleted[37] [38]
Tamar2009201310.8 tcf (trillion cubic feet)
Dalit2009Not in production700 bcf (billion cubic feet)[39]
Leviathan2010201922 tcf[40]
Dolphin2011Not in production81.3 bcf[41]
Tanin2012Not in production1.2–1.3 tcf[42]
Karish201320222.3–3.6 tcf[43]
Zeus2022Not in production0.46 tcf[44] 13
Athena2022Not in production0.41 tcf[45] 11.75
Hermes2022Not in production0.53 tcf[46] 15
Katlan2022Not in production2.4 tcf[47] [48] 68

Power stations

List of Natural gas-fired power stations in Israel:

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20130616021045/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2249rank.html CIA. The World Factbook. Natural gas - production.
  2. Web site: Israel’s fossil fuel boon becomes less clear-cut. Yawen Chen. Reuters. February 26, 2024.
  3. News: Gas discovery tempers Israeli recession blues . Amotz . Asa-El . MarketWatch . 27 January 2009 . 17 October 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20130128053526/http://articles.marketwatch.com/2009-01-27/news/30797823_1_gas-discovery-delek-group-natural-gas/2 . 28 January 2013 .
  4. https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/country.cfm?iso=ISR Israel's Key Energy Statistics
  5. News: Buck . Tobias . Field of dreams: Israel's natural gas . 2 September 2012 . Financial Times Magazine. 31 August 2012.
  6. Web site: Oil and natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean region (summer 2013 report). U.S. Energy Information Administration. 15 August 2013. 24 August 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130901220817/http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=EM. 1 September 2013.
  7. News: Charles . Levinson . Chazan, Guy . Big Gas Find Sparks a Frenzy in Israel . The Wall Street Journal . 30 December 2010 . 1 January 2011.
  8. News: Bar-Eli . Avi . 400 Drills in 60 Years: Is there Oil in Israel? . 27 April 2011 . . 26 April 2011 . Hebrew.
  9. News: Udasin. Sharon. New Natural Gas Wealth Means Historic Change for Israel. https://web.archive.org/web/20120707043556/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/07/120703-israel-new-natural-gas/. dead. 7 July 2012. 25 August 2012. National Geographic News. 3 July 2012. part of "The Great Energy Challenge" series.
  10. News: 2023-05-26 . Cyprus Speeds Up Efforts to Build Natural Gas Link With Israel . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-05-29.
  11. Web site: AP . Minister: Chevron 'positive' about Israeli-Cypriot plans for natural gas pipeline . 2023-05-29 . www.timesofisrael.com . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2023-05-15 . Cyprus, Israel working on deal for natural gas pipeline, processing plant in Cyprus . 2023-05-29 . Federal News Network . en-US.
  13. Web site: Delivery System. Israel Natural Gas Lines, Ltd.. 24 March 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20120904083001/http://www.ingl.co.il/he/%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%94%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%94.html. 4 September 2012.
  14. Web site: Consumption and Demand - גז טבעי - נתיבי הגז הטבעי לישראל המערכת הארצית להולכת גז טבעי . 2023-01-19 . Israel Natural Gas Lines.
  15. Delek Group Subsidiaries Announce Preliminary Results of 3D Seismic Survey & Updates on Tamar & Mari-B Fields . . 3 June 2010 . 3 June 2010 . https://archive.today/20130121124140/http://ir.delek-group.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=160695&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1433914 . 21 January 2013 . dead .
  16. News: Tamar offshore field promises even more gas than expected . Avi . Bar-Eli . Haaretz . 12 August 2009 . 17 October 2012.
  17. News: Noble increases Tamar gas reserve estimate 15 pct . Steven . Scheer . Reuters . 3 June 2010 . 17 October 2012.
  18. Web site: Tamar Reserves Update. Isramco Negev 2, LP.. 2 February 2014. 2. 1 February 2014.
  19. News: Solomon. Shoshanna. Khan. Sarmad. Israel Shares Rise as Gas Field Reserves Are Increased. 13 July 2014. Bloomberg News. 13 July 2014.
  20. Noble Energy Announces Successful Leviathan Appraisal Results and Increases Resource Size . . 19 December 2011 . 28 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108194808/http://investors.nobleenergyinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=634137 . 8 January 2012 . dead .
  21. Significant Discovery Announced at Leviathan-1 . . 29 December 2010 . 30 December 2010 . https://archive.today/20130121090330/http://ir.delek-group.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=160695&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1511164 . 21 January 2013 . dead .
  22. News: Barkat. Amiram. Leviathan gas reserves raised again. 1 May 2013. Globes. 1 May 2013. Koren, Hillel.
  23. US Energy Information Administration, Natural gas proved reserves, 2015.
  24. News: Zeno . Lior . Two Weeks' Postponement in Pelagic's Drilling License Approval . 21 May 2011 . TheMarker . 10 May 2011.
  25. News: Cabinet outlines plan for sovereign wealth fund. 20 February 2012. Jerusalem Post. 19 February 2012. Shemer, Nadav. Udasin, Sharon.
  26. News: Solomon. Shoshanna. Israel Begins Gas Production at Tamar Field in Boost to Economy. 30 March 2013. 30 March 2013. Ackerman, Gwen. Bloomberg.
  27. News: Barkat. Amiram. Israel in talks to export gas via Egypt. 18 April 2013. Globes. 24 December 2013.
  28. News: Barkat. Amiram. he:עצמאות אנרגטית: החלה הזרמת הגז הטבעי ממאגר "תמר"; צפוי להגיע לישראל תוך 24 שעות. http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000833050. 30 March 2013. Globes. 30 March 2013. Hebrew. Energy Independence: Gas from Tamar Expected to Arrive in 24 Hours.
  29. News: Leviathan partners say all conditions met to supply natgas to Jordan. 10 March 2018. Reuters. 7 March 2018.
  30. News: Omari. Raed. 'Lands for Israel gas pipeline acquired'. 10 March 2018. The Jordan Times. 8 March 2018.
  31. News: Israel announces major gas deal with Egypt. 10 March 2018. Deutsche Welle. 19 February 2018.
  32. Web site: Oil & Natural Gas in Israel . 2023-06-01 . www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  33. Web site: Presse . AFP-Agence France . Gas Production Starts At Karish Field Off Israel: Energy Firm . 2022-10-26 . www.barrons.com . en-US.
  34. Web site: Energean finds 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas off Israel's shore . 2022-11-14 . The Jerusalem Post JPost.com . en-US.
  35. Web site: Israel's Natural Gas Bonanza . https://web.archive.org/web/20090722040619/http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=1875 . 2009-07-22 . Energy Tribune . 5 June 2009 . 8 September 2011.
  36. Journal of Petroleum Technology . Israel's Gas Bonanza . 10.2118/0311-0046-JPT. 2011 . subscription . 2023-06-01 . Beckwith . Robin . 63 . 3 . 46–49 .
  37. News: Natural Gas Discoveries and Israel's Energy Security. 6 December 2022. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 25 May 2020.
  38. Web site: Oil & Natural Gas in Israel . 2023-06-01 . www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  39. Web site: 2009-04-02 . New Israel find for Noble Energy . 2023-06-01 . Upstream Online Latest oil and gas news . en.
  40. News: Israel to start pumping gas from Leviathan, making country an energy powerhouse. 6 December 2022. Times of Israel. 16 December 2019.
  41. News: Yeshayahou. Koby. Dolphin gas field estimate cut by 85%. 26 July 2012. Globes. 12 February 2012.
  42. Web site: 2012-02-05 . Delek, Noble Energy discover gas at Tanin well - Globes . 2023-06-01 . en.globes.co.il . en.
  43. News: Israel's Karish Offshore Gas Field: Facts and Figures. 6 December 2022. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 14 June 2022.
  44. Web site: Energean drilling programme discovers more gas off Israel . Reuters. 7 November 2022. 6 December 2022.
  45. Web site: 2022-11-07 . Energean Makes Commercial Gas Discovery at Zeus; Upgrades Athena Resources . 2023-06-01 . www.ogv.energy . en.
  46. Web site: 2022-10-06 . Energean makes commercial gas discovery at Hermes well offshore Israel . 2023-06-01 . www.spglobal.com . en.
  47. Web site: Israel officially recognizes Energean's Katlan reservoir as natural gas discovery The Times of Israel . 2023-06-01 . www.timesofisrael.com.
  48. Web site: 2023-06-01 . Israel announces new natural gas field off its coast - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East . 2023-06-01 . www.al-monitor.com . en.

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