On the way to becoming an energy empire, an Israeli exploration group has announced the existence of yet another massive gas field off Israel coast.
Two Israeli companies announced Sunday that they have discovered a new massive gas field off Israel’s coast, sending Tel-Aviv’s stock exchange into a frenzy.
The exploration group, led by the Isramco Negev and Modiin Energy companies, announced that it has discovered a field estimated to contain some 8.9 trillion cubic feet, which is similar to Israel’s Tamar field, the biggest discovered to date.
“We are excited at the potential that has been revealed for finding gas in the Daniel East and Daniel West licenses. This potential is of a significant size, which, if realized, could represent competition for existing reserves, and improve the country’s energy security,” said Ron Maor, CEO of Modiin Energy.
“Together with our partners we will carry out drilling to test the potential prospects as soon as possible. We hope that the State of Israel will encourage further activity in the potential gas reserves in the Daniel East and Daniel West fields,” he said.
However, Isramco CEO Eran Saar sought to cool the enthusiasm and put matters in their proper proportion. “The findings are encouraging, and bring new hope to the oil and gas exploration sector in Israel, but we should not go overboard,” Saar said.
“In my humble opinion, there is no drama here for the gas industry in Israel. This is not a discovery; it is only a report of potential resources, and there is no assurance at this stage that anything will come of it. I also emphasize that it involves 10 different blocs in the area of two Daniel licenses, each of which requires separate exploration drilling with different risks and chances. The road to a discovery, if any occurs, is still a long one.”
Israel’s economy has received a significant boost by its gas findings, and the Israeli central bank reported that natural gas added approximately 0.3% to the GDP over the course of 2014.
The gas fields are not only economically important to Israel, but politically as well. In 2013, the Israeli government decided that the country should export 40% of its gas production and invest the profits in economic development.
Israel has already signed contracts with Jordan and Egypt.
By: United with Israel Staff