Israel Invites Oil Majors for Further Natural Gas Exploration
10 Novembre 2015 - 4:00PM
Dow Jones News
JERUSALEM—Israel is inviting international oil companies to
further explore its offshore waters for natural gas, the country's
energy minister said on Tuesday, as the country tries to become an
energy exporter for first time.
Yuval Steinitz, Israel's minister of national infrastructure,
energy and water resources, said he had met senior executives of
more than 20 energy companies, including Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell
PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Hess Corp., to gauge interest in further
exploring offshore Israel.
"We believe that based on the geological data—from our own
experts and global companies—that there is still the potential for
new discoveries," Mr. Steinitz told reporters in Jerusalem.
Israel, Egypt and other countries have pushed to turn the
Mediterranean Sea into a natural-gas powerhouse as energy companies
make new finds there.
Shell's head of gas Maarten Wetselaar declined to disclosed if
the company had been in any talks with the Israeli government.
"We are not in the gas business in Israel and have no immediate
plans to explore or produce gas there," Mr. Wetselaar said in an
interview Tuesday.
Representatives for Eni, Exxon and Hess didn't respond
immediately to requests for comment.
Mr. Steinitz said he estimated 350 trillion to 530 trillion
cubic feet of gas, or at least 60 billion barrels of oil
equivalent, in the whole of the eastern Mediterranean basin, which
includes Egyptian, Cypriot and Israeli waters. That level of gas
would be enough to supply the needs of Egypt, Israel and Turkey for
years and leave enough gas to export to Europe, Mr. Steinitz
said.
Israel's invitation to oil companies comes after Eni said in
August that it had made the largest-ever Mediterranean Sea gas
discovery about 80 miles off the coast of Egypt, estimated at about
30 trillion cubic feet. Israel has been trying to bring smaller
offshore natural-gas fields online, a process that is moving
forward now after more than a year of political wrangling.
Israel's energy ministry estimates the two fields combined hold
at least 25 trillion cubic feet of gas.
However, Israel's economy minister Aryeh Deri resigned this
month, allowing the government to move ahead with a framework to
develop the fields. Mr. Deri had refused to waive Israeli antitrust
rules for the two main stakeholders, U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc.
and its Israeli partner, Delek Group Ltd., who had been determined
to hold a monopoly.
Ahead of the Eni discovery in Egyptian waters, Noble and Delek
had been negotiating long-term contracts to sell gas from the
Israeli fields to companies in Egypt, but the deals were delayed by
bureaucratic hurdles in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this month he would take
over the economy minister's portfolio to get the gas fields to
production faster. The parliament, known as the Knesset, passed the
deal in September on the recommendation of the Israeli cabinet.
Mr. Steinitz said on Tuesday the framework on the two fields
would be signed off by the prime minister this year and that
exploration for more fields could begin thereafter.
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 10, 2015 09:45 ET (14:45 GMT)
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