India’s friend Israel has found a treasure in the sea that will change its fortunes. The country’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Greek-British hydrocarbon exploration and production company Energean have announced that natural gas and oil reserves have been found there.
Israel’s fate is hidden in this official announcement made recently. The area where the natural gas field was discovered has been given a Catalan name known in Hebrew as ‘Orca’. The energy ministry said it was the first natural gas discovery recognized by Israel since 2015.
The Discovery Is Significant
The country’s Energy Minister, Israel Katz, handed over a formal identification certificate for discovering the natural gas field to Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean. The new domain is estimated to be around 68 billion cubic meters and technically be found in May 2022. Catalan is considered small compared to other areas of the Israeli coast.
Nevertheless, this discovery is being termed as very important. Every year Israel consumes 13 billion cubic meters of gas. The field was discovered at a time when Energean was focusing on the exploration of the Karish and Tanin reserves.
The Search Was Going On For A Long Time
Catalan gas field inside the sea comes under Israel’s economic water area. Apart from this, the Aphrodite area is mainly in the territorial waters of Cyprus. The Israeli part includes only a small space. Cana-Sidon is mostly in Lebanese waters.
Last year, an American and French crew successfully secured a deal between Israel and Lebanon, establishing the border between the two countries economic waters. In 2016, Energean acquired the Karish and Tanin natural gas fields in Israel’s financial waters in the Mediterranean Sea. The government sought to increase competition in the domestic energy market. Production from the Karish field begins in October 2022.
Increasing Revenue Every Year
The certificate, granted to Energean under Israel’s petroleum laws, will be followed by a proposed development plan that will apply to the Israeli authorities for a holding certificate. In 2004, natural gas reserves were found off the coast of Israel for the first time.
Since then, the country’s revenue has increased by about 20 billion Israeli shekels, or $ 5.35 billion. This amount has been kept in the Israeli Wealth Fund. In 2022, Israel was to receive 1.7 billion shekels, or $4.55 million, in royalties from companies exploiting its offshore gas fields. According to experts, Israel is currently going through an extraordinary change. The country is ready to invest enormous resources.
