Perilous
Times
Large reserves of Natural Gas found in offshore Israel
field
AFP
February 06, 2012 7:37AM
AN Israeli company yesterday said it had discovered "significant
amounts of natural gas" after drilling off the country's
Mediterranean coast, in a report to the Tel Aviv stock market.
The Delek Energy company, which partnered with US company Noble
Energy to conduct the offshore drilling, estimated last August
that the "Tanin 1" field could yield 34 billion cubic metres of
gas.
Delek said yesterday that exploratory drilling at the site, 120
kilometres northwest of Israel's northern city of Haifa, had now
reached the final depth of 5500 metres.
"The partnership has reached the conclusion that significant signs
of natural gas were discovered in the drilling," the statement
said.
Delek and Noble have already struck gas offshore at the Tamar and
Leviathan fields, 130 kilometres off Haifa.
Leviathan is believed to hold some 450 billion cubic metres of gas
and Tamar some 238 billion.
In June, an Israeli company announced the discovery of two new
natural gas fields, Sarah and Mira, around 70 kilometres off
Hadera farther south along the coast.
These finds could sharply reduce Israeli dependence on imports
from neighbouring Egypt, which currently supplies about 43 percent
of its natural gas needs.
Yesterday, saboteurs blew up a pipeline that supplies gas from
Egypt to Israel in the 12th such attack within a year.
Israel generates 40 percent of its electricity using natural gas,
and Egypt provides 43 percent of its gas supplies.
Also yesterday, Israel's government approved building the first
rail link between its Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts.
Israeli officials say a so-called "Med-Red" railway could be used
for future exports of gas to India, and possibly China, from the
Mediterranean fields currently under development.