(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Simon Henderson - The war in Ukraine has changed the natural gas market, increasing prices and demand in Europe. Israel currently sends its offshore gas to Egypt, where it is used to generate domestic electricity, freeing up Egyptian gas for the more lucrative export market. Chevron, which operates Israel's largest offshore field, Leviathan, is proceeding with a basic engineering study after assessing the feasibility of producing liquefied natural gas (LNG). An Israeli LNG project would involve building a multibillion-dollar specialist vessel and the expansion the Leviathan field's production, with more seabed pipelines from the field, 75 miles offshore, to the production platform, 5 miles out to sea from Zichron Yaakov. The LNG vessel would be anchored close to the platform. (Israel's environmental lobby will likely be vociferously opposed to the impact on the local sea view.) The writer is director of the Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute.
2023-02-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive