'We are happy and proud that Energean has facilitated Israel joining the club of international oil exporters,' says the company’s CEO.

Operation is expected to reach full production in four to six months.

According to Syrian Social Nationalist Party spokesman Firas Al-Shoufi of Lebanon, Israel's offshore oil rigs should all be bombed.

European president Ursula von der Leyen struck a distinctly different tone in Israel's capital. What's driving this shift?

'Tens of billions of dollars' are waiting underground, Professor Eugene Kendall recently told the Knesset.

An Israeli partnership announced that an oil field they have been surveying north of the Dead Sea is estimated to hold seven million barrels of oil, worth NIS 1.2 billion ($321 million).

Saudi Arabia has plans to issue select visas to welcome tens of thousands of tourists a year as part of a sweeping national reform plan aimed at showcasing the country's rich heritage.

Iran is reaping the fruits of the nuclear deal. The question remains - will they will use the proceeds for the betterment of their country or for terrorism and weapons development?

Israel has imported around 75 percent of its oil in recent months from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. By doing so, it offers a vital source of funds for the Kurds in order to fight Islamic State.