Every household saved more than $33,000 over the past decade thanks to the discoveries off the coast.

By JNS

Israel’s economy saved more than 316 billion shekels (~$86.7 billion) over the past decade thanks to its “natural gas revolution,” according to an in-depth study released on Tuesday.

That reflects a savings of more than NIS 120,000 (~$33,000) for every family in Israel over the past decade, according to the report by economic consulting firm BDO and the Israeli Natural Gas Trade Association.

The report also found that the price of electricity in Israel was nearly 50% lower than in Europe at the end of 2022 due to the country’s use of its offshore natural gas.

The NIS 316 billion savings, based on an analysis of public data published by Israel’s Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environmental Protection and other entities, can be divided into two categories: savings of NIS 126 billion (~$34 billion) in energy costs derived from natural gas and environmental benefits amounting to NIS 190 billion ($52 billion) resulting from the use of natural gas over more polluting fuels.

During the past decade, more than NIS 19 billion ($5 billion) in gas revenue has been paid directly to the state treasury—14 times more than in the previous decade.

By 2030, an additional NIS 70 billion (~$19 billion) of natural gas funds are forecast to be paid into the state treasury, the report said. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to more than NIS 300 billion (~$82 billion).

Gas production rose fivefold in the last decade compared to the previous one. Israel’s natural gas reserves have also grown.

In 2012, Israel’s reserves stood at some 780 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas. In 2022, that figure reached 1.087 billion BCM as more natural gas discoveries were made in Israel’s economic waters and the assessed volumes of the fields were updated.

Israel is the leader in saving gas for the future among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, the study said. The rate of gas production is about half that of the largest producers in the OECD.

According to a 2015 report by the Ministry of Energy, there’s potential for discovering an additional 2,100 BCM of natural gas in Israel’s economic waters, which would triple the current reserves.

“Israel is ranked third among OECD countries in terms of reserves per capita and enjoys a relative advantage in the use of natural gas for domestic consumption and export,” said Chen Herzog, chief economist and partner at BDO Consulting Israel, who authored the report.

“Now is the time to enjoy this advantage through using natural gas in the domestic economy and expanding exports,” he added.

Amir Foster, executive director of the Israeli Natural Gas Association, said the Jewish state must continue to develop local production capabilities and export infrastructure so it can “break out beyond the regional arena and become an important international energy supplier.

The post Israel’s natural gas revolution leads to $86b in savings appeared first on World Israel News.

An Arab plan to help Lebanon recover from an energy crisis may hinge on Israeli gas being part of the arrangement.

The post WATCH: Could Israeli gas help Lebanon out of its energy crisis? appeared first on World Israel News.

The Israeli energy partnership has signed an MOU to sell its 22 percent holding in the reservoir for $1.1 billion.

By JNS

Israeli energy partnership Delek Drilling announced on Monday that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to sell its stake in the Tamar natural-gas field to Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Petroleum for $1.1 billion.

Mubadala Petroleum, a government-owned oil and gas exploration and production company, was established in 2012 and operates in 10 nations. Its primary focus is in the Middle East, North Africa, Russia and Southeast Asia.

Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu called the development “a large step towards the final completion of the Gas Framework, in accordance with all our undertakings at the outset,” reported the Israeli business daily Globes.

The agreement also represented a “further, important stage in fulfilling the vision of strong regional cooperation,” he added.

Israel’s Gas Framework, comprising government decisions approved in 2015 and 2016 to encourage competition in the gas sector, obliges Delek Drilling to sell its 22 percent share in the reservoir by December 2021.

In response to Monday’s announcement, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said, “As I promised, [Israel’s] gas monopoly continues to disintegrate.”

“The agreement for the sale of Delek’s share in the Tamar natural-gas reservoir to a company from Abu Dhabi represents further proof of success in the implementation of the Gas Framework I initiated and fought to pass several years ago,” he added.

“Large international companies are entering and expressing their confidence in our gas market, and now, after the signing of the ‘Abraham [Accords],’ a company from an Arab country is also investing in Israel’s gas market. I believe this is the beginning of cooperation between the countries in the field of energy and in other economic and political fields for the welfare of the citizens,” he said.

After the sale of its rights in Tamar, Delek Drilling will continue to hold a 45.3 percent share in the Leviathan reservoir, alongside holdings in Ithaca Energy, which operates in the North Sea, and other assets, according to Globes.

The post $1.1 billion deal: Delek sells rights to Israeli gas field to UAE company appeared first on World Israel News.

Brig. Gen. Gil Aginsky, outgoing head of the Israeli Navy’s Haifa base, describes the Mediterranean as an immense “blue tunnel” that can’t be blown up.

By Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom via JNS

Hezbollah wants to attack Israel from the sea and is developing capabilities that will allow it to do so in a future conflict, warns outgoing commander of the Israeli Navy’s Haifa base, Brig. Gen. Gil Aginsky, who last week retired after 32 years of military service.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Aginsky cited the tension on the northern border and the threats Hezbollah has been making, and said that the Israeli Navy was prepared to confront the challenges awaiting it, no matter how serious.

“The challenge we are grappling with is twofold—from the sea, and from under the sea. On the water, we know how to deal with any scenario, including some very complicated ones. When it comes to the underwater sphere, we are in the process of arming ourselves and dealing with a challenge that is unique to us,” said Aginsky.

“We’re talking about a ‘blue tunnel.’ You can blow up every terror tunnel under the Gaza Strip, but our ‘tunnel’ is enormous. The basic assumption is that Hezbollah wants to infiltrate [Israel] via the sea. They aren’t there to grow flowers. They intend to prevent us from being here, and if they can execute that intention from the sea, they will,” said Aginsky, adding, “Our job is to prevent that. We are holding onto the northern border fast and covering the entire zone.”

Israel is marking the 14th anniversary of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, during which terrorists fired a missile at the INS Hanit warship, which was on operation 16 kilometers (10 miles) off Beirut’s shores. Four Israeli sailors were killed.

Aginsky said that the Israel Defense Forces has learned its lesson.

“We are better prepared and I have absolute faith in our tools. The threat still exists, and it is significant, but we are looking to protect Israel’s gas rigs, above all else. If Hezbollah wants to cause strategic damage, it will try to attack the rigs, but if it hits a ship along the way, it won’t be sorry. In the end, the ship’s goal is to protect the rig,” he said.

“We are expanding our powers in terms of vessels, infrastructure, [and] personnel. Our operational readiness is a top priority, given the changing strategic reality around us, down to the micro-tactical level, which changes every day,” said Aginsky.

In the next few years, the IDF will be receiving a number of new submarines and Sa’ar 6 warships, which Aginsky predicts will double the Israeli Navy’s power.

“A few things we’ve done with submarines have brought Shayetet 13 [Flotilla 13 naval commando unit] to groundbreaking new places. The new submarines are very important, and the Sa’ar 6 ships are no less important to the Israeli Navy. These tools are nothing less than amazing. I hope we won’t be challenged, but if we are, the enemy will find itself facing the ultimate response,” he said.

With regard to the coronavirus epidemic in Israel, Aginsky says only that the Israeli Navy is studying cases from around the world, and stresses that “coronavirus has not affected the navy’s operational capability.”

The question of whether or not all combat roles in Israel’s military should be open to women has recently been revived in the public discourse. Aginsky thinks they should be.

“Remarks about how women can’t be integrated into the military are infuriating,” he says. “Women serve almost everywhere in the Israeli Navy, and we integrate them wherever it’s possible. Women can do everything.”

The post Israel’s gas rigs are high-priority targets for Hezbollah, warns top Israeli Navy commander appeared first on World Israel News.

“The Ministry of Energy expects a major jump in gas revenues in 2020 as the Leviathan field has begun producing gas,” says Globes.

By World Israel News Staff 

Fees and royalties from Israel’s natural gas, oil, and minerals totaled 864 million NIS (new Israeli shekels) in 2019, down from NIS 878 million in 2018, the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources reported this week, as cited by the Globes business news outlet.

However, “the Ministry of Energy expects a major jump in gas revenues in 2020 as the Leviathan field has begun producing gas,” says Globes.

In fact, it expects “a record increase in royalty revenues in 2020, largely from the production of natural gas” from the Leviathan, which began operations on January 6, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The ministry said that the drop during the past year was due “to the strengthening of the shekel in 2019 as well as a breakdown in the Tamar well in April,” according to Globes.

“Since the Tamar gas field came on stream in 2013, the government’s take has totaled NIS 5.18 billion,” it added.

On January 15, Israel began exporting natural gas to its southern neighbor Egypt as part of a deal signed in December.

Under the reported terms of the deal, Israel is to supply natural gas to Egypt for the next 15 years. The Egyptians would liquefy it and export it to Europe.

Earlier in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz traveled to Athens to sign a major three-way gas pipeline agreement with the leaders of Cyprus and Greece.

Under the agreement, the pipeline will run across the Mediterranean from Israel’s Leviathan reservoir to the Greek island of Crete and the Greek mainland, and then to Italy. The pipeline is expected to satisfy about 10 percent of the European Union’s natural gas needs, decreasing energy dependence on Russia.

The post Ministry of Energy expects ‘record increase’ in gas revenues in coming year appeared first on World Israel News.