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ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Mediterranean

Israel produced as much as 131,000 Bbls of onshore oil per day in 1971 during its occupation of the Sinai Peninsula but this area had been returned to Egypt by 1982.

It now only produces negligible amounts of oil from the Negev desert and appears to have no significant oil potential either onshore or offshore even though in 1990, Isramco discovered the small Yam oil field in shallow waters off Tel Aviv.

In 1999 and 2000 a number of gas discoveries were made offshore near the Egyptian border in the Pleshet basin and off the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Perhaps combined reserves of 130 Bcm of gas have been found. The most significant are the Mari and Noa fields, located West of Tel Aviv by Israel’s Yam Thetis group with Samedan. They are believed to have reserves of 42 Bcm.

Isramco with BG also discovered the Nir gas field 20 km offshore with reserves of 7.75 Bcm but this may not be commercially viable. To improve commerciality of its discoveries the Yam Thetis gas consortium has been lobbying against Egyptian gas imports.

Field development of Mari-B began in 2002 and a pipeline was completed in late 2003 to an IEC power plant in Ashdod. Gas deliveries started in February 2004 at around 0.36 Bcm per year. During 2004, as IEC converted boilers and turbines at Ashdod from fuel oil to gas, deliveries from Mari-B increased to 1.7 Bcm per year under an 11-year contract. Additional growth in output is restricted by problems in building an onshore natural gas distribution system due to security concerns.

Gas has also been discovered in Palestinian territorial waters off the Gaza Strip. BG, discovered gas in this area with its Gaza Marine-1 well in August 1999 and drilled a second well in 2000. It has signed a 25-year contract to explore and set up a gas network in the Palestinian Authority. Possible reserves of around 40 Bcm have been announced. Achieving commercial production will remain difficult, as indigenous gas must soon compete with cheaper Egyptian imports.

CAPITAL

 Tel Aviv/Jerusalem

Population

 7.8 million

Onshore area

(000's sq kms)

21.2

Offshore area

(000's sq kms)

NEW

OIL PEAK YEAR

1971

A low-priced and up-to-date oil and gas production and consumption forecast report on this country can be commissioned, including all relevant charts. Contact us for price and contents list.