A month after the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure ordered a halt to the flow of natural gas from the Tamar reservoir off Israel’s coast, the partners in the reservoir announced today that the ministry has said that the supply of gas can resume.
Tamar is not Israel’s largest gas reservoir, but it is very important for local consumption. In 2022, 85% of the gas produced from it went to the local market. Without the local supply from Tamar, Israel’s gas exports to Egypt, and in general, become a complicated matter.
Tamar contains 13.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, which compares with 22 TCF in the Leviathan reservoir. The last time production was halted at the Tamar reservoir, which is nearer to the Gaza Strip, was during the Guardian of the Walls operation two-and-a-half years ago.
The instruction from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to resume supply from Tamar could be for two reasons. One is that the threat from rocket fire and drones launched by Hamas has declined because of the IDF’s operations in the Gaza Strip. The other is that the continual friction between the IDF and Hezbollah across the Lebanese border could represent a threat to production from the Karish reservoir, which is entirely designated for the local market.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 12, 2023.
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