Israel Matzav

Israel's natural gas reserves 30% higher than expected

Former Prime Minister Golda Meir is said to have quipped, "Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!" Golda may have been right about the oil, but Moses seems to have brought us to a place that has an important natural resource that was only recently found: Natural gas.

The reserves of natural gas discovered at the "Tamar 2" drilling site off the coast of Haifa are estimated to be up to 30 percent greater than expected and may reach 180 billion cubic meters, TheMarker has learned.

This report could significantly affect Israel's place within that strategic balance of energy resources in the Middle East. The newfound reserves provide Israel with enough natural gas resources for an additional five years.

Tamar is a joint venture between the U.S. company Noble Energy (36%), Isramco (28.9%), Delek Drilling and Avner Oil and Gas Exploration.

"We can say with responsibility and certainty that Israel is independent - independence in blue and white," said Delek owner Yitzhak Tshuva in an interview with Army Radio. "Israel will no longer be dependent on others."

Six months ago, the partnership responsible for drilling at "Tamar 1," another offshore drilling site, announced that "extremely significant" reserves of natural gas had been discovered at the location 90 kilometers west of Haifa. The reserves at that site were estimated to be at least 142 billion cubic meters.

The potential value of the natural gas reserves at both sites, according to estimates, is $35 billion.

God knew what he was doing when he put the Promised Land here.

Maybe the US should try some offshore drilling....

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:43 PM