Report: First Israeli Natural Gas Export Deal May Be With Jordanian Company
by Joshua Levitt
In what would be the first deal to export Israel’s newly found natural gas, the owners of the Tamar field, may be selling energy directly to the Arab Potash Company, in Jordan, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The deal would be Israel’s first ever energy export, and could open the door to larger deals with Jordan or Egypt in the future, Israel’s Globes business daily said on Monday.
The WSJ reported that the Tamar partnerships, U.S. group Noble Energy, Israel’s Delek Group Ltd. and Isramco Ltd., would extend their natural gas pipeline to provide gas to the Potash Company, which is 28% owned by Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp).
Off the coast of Haifa, the Tamar field, Israel’s first major hydrocarbon discovery, is believed to hold over 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. On the international market, at $5 per thousand cubic feet, Tamar’s gas would be worth $50 billion.
In 2010, U.S. developer Noble Energy signed an agreement with Israel’s Delek group to develop the field. Meanwhile, other major fields, including Leviathan, an even larger natural gas reserve, are expected to begin supplying energy after 2016.