Israel, reliant on imported energy since the state’s foundation in 1948, now has more natural gas than it can handle.
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL), Delek Group Ltd. (DLEKG) and other explorers have discovered enough gas under the Mediterranean Sea to supply Israel’s needs for 150 years. To profit from the finds sooner, the companies want to export the gas by pipeline or ship. As the Ministry of Energy prepares to publish a blueprint for developing the fields later this month, officials say the country’s economy and security must come first and shipments abroad should be limited.
Consequences To Expect If The U.S. Invades Iran
Exploding Oil PricesThe U.S. has had a ban on Iranian oil imports since 1979, however, Iran still supplies about 5% of the global oil market. This might not seem like much, but Iran also has the means and ability to shut down the Straight of Hormuz, which is one of two major petroleum choke points in the world. Around 17 million barrels of oil per day are shipped through the Straight of Hormuz, or about 20% of all oil traded worldwide.In 2006, during the last major Iran war scare, experts predicted gasoline price increases in excess of $10 a gallon if Iran was invaded.This would devastate the U.S. economy, which is already hanging by a thin thread. Iran has announced this past weekend it will cease all oil shipments to Britain and France in protest of their support of economic sanctions. This alone is causing oil to spike today. A global energy crisis will financially decimate average citizens who will have their savings sapped by extreme price inflation, not just in gasoline, but in all goods that require the use of gasoline in their production and shipping. If you like this idea, then by all means, support an invasion of Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met energy executives last month and said he would take steps to strengthen the potential of gas exports.
‘Many Reforms’
“We need to make many reforms and maintain a responsible framework for the state” in the energy market, Netanyahu said in a statement after the meeting.
The debate in Israel is similar to that in the U.S., where gas-hungry companies including Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. have lobbied lawmakers to prevent exports on a scale that risks driving up natural-gas prices.
Noble discovered the Leviathan gas field in Israel’s deep waters in 2010 and at the time it was the world’s largest find of its kind in a decade. The Houston-based explorer is looking for a partner to develop an LNG project, which may cost as much as $5 billion. It also plans a deeper well next year to search for Israel’s first offshore crude finds, Chief Executive Officer Charles Davidson said on a July 26 conference call with investors.
“We’ve found far more natural gas that can ever be used in Israel,” Davidson said at a conference in May. MORE FROM Bloomberg
No comments:
Post a Comment