I.) The Leviathan gas field

The Leviathan gas field was the second largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea after the August 2015 discovery of the Zohr field off the coast of Egypt, only 6 km from Cyprus’s Block 11.

Chevron Corporation, which acquired Noble Energy in October 2020, operates Leviathan with a 39.66% working interest; Delek Corp. holds 22.67%; Avner Oil Exploration holds 22.67%; and Ratio Oil Exploration holds the remaining 15%.

Woodside Energy agreed to buy a 25% stake of the Leviathan field for up to US $2.55 billion.

II.) Minister Steinitz at the Energy Ministers Summit Held in Israel:
“The Israel-Europe Gas Pipeline Will Allow Israeli Gas to Reach Every Home in Europe. There Has Never Been Such an Ambitious Infrastructure Project in Israel.”

Within 8 years and by the means of a 20B ILS investment, the longest underwater gas pipeline in the world will be laid, as agreed in the energy ministers’ summit hosted by Minister Steinitz.

At the summit, the energy ministers of Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the EU energy commissioner signed a joint declaration to promote the world’s longest underwater gas pipeline, between Israel and Europe. The Italian Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda; the Greek Minister of Energy, Giorgos Stathakis; the Cypriot Minister of Energy, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis; and the EU Climate and Energy commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete attended the summit.

The planned 2,000-km pipeline will cost approximately 20B ILS and expected to be completed by 2025. It will constitute an additional gas export option from Israel to Europe. During the summit, the ministers of energy signed a joint declaration by which their respective countries are committed to promote the project, and a workgroup will be established to promote and attain an interstate agreement on this matter.

Also, the ministers announced that they adopt the joint professional document, prepared by the general directors of the ministries of energy, establishing the project has engineering and financial feasibility and strategic value.

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Yuval Steinitz: “today we can say that Israel is on the map also in the field of energy. The formal summit held this morning and our mutual agreement to launch the Mediterranean gas pipeline project means that Israel is conceived, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe, as a major player in the international energy market. It has financial consequences and certainly political ones.”

III.) Oil & Natural Gas Exploration & Production in Israel

Oil and gas account for over 65% of Israel’s energy consumption. Though exploration efforts were made throughout the country’s history, until the late 1990s, it was considered an anomaly in the Middle East – a nation poor in hydrocarbon resources adjacent to some of the richest producers in the world.

The Early Years

Exploration for oil and gas began in the 1920s, under British rule. After Israel gained its independence in 1948 and the Petroleum Law was enacted in 1952, several exploration companies and governmental institutions were established. The first oil was discovered in 1955, and over the next four decades some 450 exploration wells were drilled on land and offshore. However, with the exception of one small oil field, no commercial success was achieved.

Offshore Success

Following the discovery of oil in non-commercial quantities from the 1970s, in June 1999 the Tethys Sea partnership discovered Noa-1, the first commercially viable natural gas field in Israel, 40km off the coast of Ashkelon. This was followed in 2000 by another gas reservoir, Mari-B, with 45 BCM of gas in place. Commercial production from Mari-B began in 2004, used almost exclusively by the Israel Electric Company as substitute for diesel and coal.

The Israeli Gas Revolution

The success of Noa-1 and Mari-B fueled an exploration boom in the Israeli Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Several exploration licenses were awarded by the Ministry of Energy, and in 2009, a partnership led by Noble Energy announced the discovery of the Tamar field, located 90km west of Haifa. Along with a smaller field discovered the same year, the partnership discovered some 250 BCM of recoverable gas reserves. In 2010, the giant Leviathan structure was discovered by Noble Energy and its partners 30km west of Tamar, with an estimated 500 BCM of recoverable reserves – the largest natural gas discovery of the decade worldwide. Over the next few years, additional amounts of gas were discovered in the Karish, Tanin, Dolphin, Tamar SW and Aphrodita-Ishai fields.

With a total amount of around 900 BCM recoverable gas reserves, the discoveries have revolutionized Israel’s energy sector. The Tamar, Leviathan and Karish fields began production in 2013, 2020 and 2022 respectively. Currently, around 21 BCM of gas is produced annually, with over 9 BCM exported to Egypt and Jordan. The domestic supply is used primarily for electricity generation, alongside some industrial use.