Israel Caps Natural Gas Exports at 500 bcm

Reuters reported that an Israeli government panel has capped natural gas exports from the country’s newly-discovered fields at 500 billion cubic meters (bcm), ending months of uncertainty. Israel will retain sufficient gas to supply its own needs for 25 years.

As quoted in the market news:

Oil and gas companies had been looking for guarantees they could sell reserves abroad because Israel is a relatively small market. For itself, Israel will set aside 450 bcm.

“The name of the game is certainty,” said Shaul Tzemach, director-general of the Energy Ministry and head of the committee tasked with shaping the nascent exploration industry. “So whoever does explore, and does make a discovery, will know they have a market to sell to.”

Nineteen new wells are expected to be drilled in the next two years at a cost of about $2 billion in an area of the eastern Mediterranean larger than the country itself.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.