Gas from Tamar starts to flow

Natural gas from the Tamar field in the Mediterranean started to flow on Saturday in what Israelis hope will be our ticket to energy independence.

"Today (we begin) independence in Israeli natural gas. It is an enormous achievement for the Israeli economy and the start of a new era," said billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, the controlling shareholder in Delek Group, one of the partners in Tamar.

The gas should lead to a reduction in production costs for state utility Israel Electric Corp as well as a decline in the price of electricity, the Water and Energy Ministry said last week.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netantyahu highlighted the achievement in a statement issued by his office.

"We are taking an important step towards independence in the energy sector. In the past decade we have promoted Israel's gas sector and this will enhance Israel's economy and benefit all the country's citizens," he said.

Tamar is located 90 kilometers off the coast of Haifa and has an estimated 10 trillion cubic feet of gas. Development of Tamar and Leviathan will make Israel less dependent on energy imports but the country has said it will also allow a significant amount of its natural gas to be exported.

I wonder if anyone at Israel Electric is listening.  Or maybe the government wants to keep our prices as high as they are already, and to use the new gas to provide for the 'Palestinians.'