On Wednesday, Israel signed an agreement with Jordan to supply the Hashemite kingdom with $15 billion of natural gas from the Tamar natural gas field over 15 years. According to The Times of Israel, the deal “is the largest collaboration with Jordan to date.”
[Energy and Water Minister Silvan] Shalom hailed the agreement, and referred to it as “a historic act that will strengthen the economic and diplomatic ties between Israel and Jordan.”
“At this time, Israel is becoming an energy superpower, which will supply the energy needs of its neighbors and strengthen its standing as a central source of energy supply in the region, and I welcome it,” he said in a statement. …
The Jordanians turned to Israel because their supply of natural gas from Egypt had been halted by repeated terrorist attacks on the gas pipeline from Egypt, a Channel 2 report said.
In addition to the deal with Jordan, Israel has also “signed a 20-year, $1.2 billion deal with a Palestinian firm, and in June signed a letter of intent to supply energy to an Egyptian facility as well.”
The Israeli business website Globes added:
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs Amos Hochstein is in Jordan for the signing ceremony. …
This deal significantly changes the economic strategic relations between Israel and Jordan and makes Israel an energy producer and exporter that can use its position to achieve strategic aims. Discussions over Israeli gas exports have rumbled on in Israel for the past few years and ultimately it was decided that Israel can export 40% of its offshore natural gas reserves.
In Drilldown: Is Blue and White Oil on The Way?, which appeared in the July 2013 issue of The Tower Magazine, Daniel Fink investigated another resource that could boost Israel’s profile as an energy exporter- oil shale. Fink concluded that, while it was possible for Israel to extract oil from the shale at some time in the future, it was not likely in the short term.
The short answer is no, at least not in the near future. Despite the breathless media reports, the process of developing oil shale as a viable alternative to conventional oil is still in its infancy. But it is important to remember that Israel is a country that has survived by making the nearly impossible possible. Should it succeed again in doing so with oil shale technology, it could lead to enormous changes not only for Israel but the entire world.
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