Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources today granted permission for Energean plc (LSE: ENOG; TASE: ENOG) to begin producing natural gas from the Karish offshore field. Karish will be Israel's third gas field connected to the grid after Tamar and Leviathan.
The permit to produce gas has been received two days before the maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon is due to be signed. In recent months Hezbollah had been threatening the Karish field, which is located close to the northern border of Israel's economic waters.
The Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources stressed that connecting up the new rig mainly has significance for Israel's neighbors. "The new connection strengthens Israel as a major supplier of natural gas and will allow it to increase natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan, and from there to other countries in Europe needing other gas sources due to the global energy crisis.
"This step helps Israel and countries like Egypt and Jordan reduce use of polluting fuels like coal and oil, and dramatically cuts air pollution."
The Karish rig is located 80 kilometers west of Israel's coast. As well as allowing Israel to export more gas, Karish will also enhance Israel's energy security. The gas field is 3-4 kilometers beneath the seabed, which is 1,700 meters below the sea's surface. From the floating, production storage and offloading (FPSO) rig, the gas will flow along an undersea pipeline to the Israeli shore, and from there to consumers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2022.
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