"The oil produced by Givot Olam Oil Exploration LP (TASE:GIVO.L) can meet at least 10% of Israel's oil consumption," said Ephraim Sneh of Netanya Academic College's S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue at the college's energy conference today.
Sneh added, "The field that [Givot chairman] Giora Eiland talks about is located one kilometer from the Green Line. To the best of my knowledge, in geology, the security fence does not go below four meters underground, the large reservoir from which Givot is producing oil partly extends into the West Bank, around the village of Rentis.
"If the Israeli government were to unilaterally allow the Palestinians to drill not only within Rentis, but around it, the Palestinians could take a risk, drill, and find oil there. I just hope that they are even more bureaucratic than we are, although that doesn’t take much."
Sneh concluded, "If there is cooperation between Majd and Meged (Givot's oil field), it could be an extraordinary partnership. For example, there could be a joint pipeline, because if you're talking about a field with an expected production capacity of 24,000 barrels of oil a day, that is not an amount that can be carried by trucks."
Sneh also suggested rebuilding the old Iraq-Haifa oil pipeline. "Our refineries and Haifa Port would receive more oil, Jordan would benefit from the passage, and Iraq would earn revenues. But for this to happen, there must be changes in the Middle East, which regrettably won't happen anytime soon. But, as they say, maybe after summer."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 19, 2012
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