Israel Starts Drilling In Huge Natural Gas Discovery

Israel may be on the verge of making the transformation from an energy importing nation to an energy exporter, thanks to two huge natural gas discoveries in its coastal waters.

Israel's Delek Ltd. and Texas-based Noble Energy start drilling for natural gas this week off Israel's northern coast.

Seismic surveys show the Leviathan field, located 135 kilometers, or about 84 miles, off Israel's northern coast, could contain as much as 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to supply Israel's gas needs for over a century.

Leviathan is the second major discovery of natural gas in Israel's coastal waters. In 2009, the Tamar field was discovered, containing over 8 trillion cubic feet.

"We see a huge revolution in the Israeli energy sector," said Gideon Tadmor, chief executive of Delek Energy Ltd., the Israeli energy company that, through its two subsidiaries, owns about 45% in the Leviathan prospect and a 31.2% stake in the smaller Tamar field. Houston-based Noble owns a 40% share in Leviathan and a 36% share in Tamar.

The companies expect to announce the results of the drilling early next year. The five-month effort will cost $150 million and reach a depth of 5,500 meters, or 18,150 feet, below the seabed in waters 1,700 meters deep.

Together with Israel's breakthroughs in solar energy, a revolutionary discovery in producing synthetic fuels using algae and oil discoveries offshore and at Rosh Pinna, the new gas fields could ensure Israeli energy independence and a new status as an energy exporter.

The old Borscht Belt joke about how Moses should have turned left because he would have had the oil could end up with a very different punchline.

(hat tip Carl)

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