Israel to become natural gas-independent for the first time
Israel currently operates two major natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea: Tamar and Leviathan.
By ZEV STUBIsrael's Floating Storage Regasification Unit off the coast of Hadera(photo credit: MAYA ETZIONI)
Israel will rely on its own natural gas supplies without needing external suppliers, starting in 2022, the Energy Ministry has said.Israel maintains an offshore emergency gas supply in a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) boat off the coast of Hadera. Canceling that unit will save Israelis more than NIS 250 million per year in electricity costs.Israel operates two major natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea: Tamar, which has been pumping gas since 2013, and Leviathan, which began production last year. A third gas source, the Karish field, is expected to start producing gas during the coming year. At that point, the Energy Ministry maintains, there will be no need for external backups.The existing FSRU infrastructure that was built in 2012 will be maintained in case of future need, the ministry noted. The system allows liquefied natural gas to be imported and stored, and then converted back to a gas and delivered via sea link to Israel's natural gas transmission system.In a letter to the American company that provides the FSRU, Energy Ministry director-general Udi Adiri thanked the company for its service, and said it would cancel the arrangement.Israel began using the FSRU system in 2013, when gas imports from Egypt ceased and the Tethys gas reservoir, Israel's only natural gas source at the time, was approaching depletion.
