Israel has offered to export gas to India. During his visit to India last week, Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz proposed to the Indian government that Israel should export natural gas to India, the Times of India reports. The two sides have committed to examine this possibility, and negotiations will continue during the reciprocal visit by the Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in Israel in January.
Qatar and Oman are India's main gas suppliers. Iran, which might have been one of India's main LNG suppliers, cancelled a huge deal with India after it had been signed, following India's vote against its nuclear program in the IAEA. The idea of constructing a gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan too has run aground on security considerations.
In Israel, gas is expected to start flowing from the Tamar field in 2013 and from the Leviathan field in 2016.
"Globes" previously reported that Norwegian company Hoegh LNG will carry out the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal for the Tamar gas field. The project is worth $2.5-4.5 billion, and will enable gas from the Tamar gas field to be exported to the Far East through FLNG facilities that are considered the latest word in natural gas infrastructures. Liquefied natural gas is two to three times more expensive in the Far East than in Israel.
According to the report, India is a suitable country for the export of Israeli gas: it requires a huge amount of energy, and is a fitting market since exporting to it will involve no political difficulties for the two countries.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 19, 2011
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