Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz ordered on Sunday that the country’s only operating natural gas field, the offshore Tamar field, be closed as a precaution after violence between militants in the Gaza Strip and Israel flared up at the end of last week. The natural gas from the Tamar field is being pumped by a subsea pipeline from a rig which is within the range of some the hundreds of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel over the past few days. The temporary closure of the Tamar field put Israel’s energy supply into an emergency mode, as power plants need to use alternatives to the natural gas they receive from the field to keep operating, according to The Times of Israel. The power plants will be burning diesel, coal, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a ship anchored in Israel’s north. The emergency energy situation was initially […]