Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Is Israel Transforming Into A Major Energy Producer?


Gas Pains -- Tablet

Recently discovered gas and oil fields could make Israel one of the world’s largest energy producers. That threatens Iran’s power, which is why its agents in Lebanon are manufacturing a border dispute.

The Tamar field, discovered in 2009 roughly 50 miles off Haifa, is estimated to contain 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, while the Leviathan field, discovered further west in June 2010, is double that at 18 trillion cubic feet, one of the largest offshore finds in the last decade. And yet much more important, a former Royal Dutch Shell chief scientist who’s now chief scientist for Israel Energy Initiatives “has devised an ambitious plan that would, if successful, turn Israel into one of the world’s leading oil producers,” according to an Energy Tribune report earlier this year. It turns out that the oil-shale deposits in Israel’s Shfela Basin, 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem, hold some 250 billion barrels of oil—roughly equal to Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves. In other words, Israel may well become a player in the highly competitive field of energy-producing nations, which includes Hezbollah’s patron, Iran.

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My Comment: The oil-shale deposits in Israel’s Shfela Basin, 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem and holding some 250 billion barrels of oil, is what catches my attention. The oil sands projects in Alberta has transformed Canada as a major oil supplier, if Israel follows the same policies that Canada has followed, coupled with the natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean .... Israel's energy status and influence will change significantly.

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