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Israeli electricity sector cuts gasoil, fuel oil demand in favor of gas

Israel’s electricity sector kept cutting its use of gasoil and fuel oil in the first 11 months of the year and in November marked its first month on record without any fuel oil consumption, the Energy and Water Ministry said Wednesday. The change is due to the sharp rise in natural gas demand by Israel Electric Corp. and private power producers since the start of commercial production at the huge Tamar offshore gas field. According to ministry figures, the power sector consumed 282,000 mt of gasoil over January-November, down 85% from the same period of 2012, and 80,000 mt of fuel oil over the same period, down 92% year on year. In November, the sector consumed 2,000 mt of gasoil and no fuel oil, the ministry said. Israel’s total demand for refined products over January-November fell 24% year on year to 9.224 million mt, […]

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Iran Sanctions Bill Big Test of Israel Lobby Power

This week’s introduction by a bipartisan group of 26 senators of a new sanctions bill against Iran could result in the biggest test of the political clout of the Israel lobby here in decades. The government of President Hassan Rouhani has warned repeatedly that the demand that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme entirely is a deal-breaker. Credit: Mojtaba Salimi/cc by 2.0. The White House, which says the bill could well derail ongoing negotiations between Iran and the U.S. and five other powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme and destroy the international coalition behind the existing sanctions regime, has already warned that it will veto the bill if it passes Congress in its present form. The new bill, co-sponsored by […]

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Cyprus likely partner as Israel mulls gas exports, but Turkey beckons

Israel is studying its options for exporting its natural gas riches in the eastern Mediterranean, but instability in neighboring Egypt and friction with former ally Turkey are blocking possible undersea pipeline links with them to take the gas to Europe. That leaves a joint export operation with neighboring Cyprus, which will be the next big offshore gas producer in the region, looking like the frontrunner — for now, at least, because war-divided Cyprus lies at the center of a long and seemingly intractable dispute with Turkey. Regional security problems are proving to be a major stumbling block in the Jewish state’s drive to capitalize on its newfound energy wealth, with the Israeli navy undergoing an expansion driven by the need to protect Israel’s offshore fields and infrastructure. A recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration observed territorial disputes in the eastern […]

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Israeli Firms Distance Themselves From Noble Energy's Oil Field Estimates

The Israeli partners of Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) in the offshore Leviathan field on Wednesday distanced themselves from comments made by the U.S. company about its estimated oil potential. Noble in a conference call with investors said it has increased its estimate to 1.5 billion barrels of oil in the field, with an additional 1.5 billion barrels of oil in a nearby Cyprus field it also controls with Israeli partners. Noble’s Israeli partners–Delek Drilling Ltd. Partnership (DEDR.L.TV), Ratio Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (RATI.L.TV), Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (AVNR.L.TV) and Alon Natural Gas Exploration Ltd. (ALGS.TV)–said the new estimates weren’t in accordance with Israeli reporting regulations. The requirements about how energy companies can publish reserve estimates differ between the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which often has more stringent requirements than the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under which Houston-based Noble […]

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Israeli Firms Distance Themselves From Noble Energy’s Oil Field Estimates

The Israeli partners of Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) in the offshore Leviathan field on Wednesday distanced themselves from comments made by the U.S. company about its estimated oil potential. Noble in a conference call with investors said it has increased its estimate to 1.5 billion barrels of oil in the field, with an additional 1.5 billion barrels of oil in a nearby Cyprus field it also controls with Israeli partners. Noble’s Israeli partners–Delek Drilling Ltd. Partnership (DEDR.L.TV), Ratio Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (RATI.L.TV), Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (AVNR.L.TV) and Alon Natural Gas Exploration Ltd. (ALGS.TV)–said the new estimates weren’t in accordance with Israeli reporting regulations. The requirements about how energy companies can publish reserve estimates differ between the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which often has more stringent requirements than the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under which Houston-based Noble […]

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Israel Says Soldier Killed by Lebanese Sniper

An Israeli soldier was killed by a Lebanese army sniper late Sunday as he drove along the border, the Israeli military said, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation. The shooting near Rosh Hanikra raised the possibility of renewed fighting in the volatile area, which has remained mostly quiet since a monthlong war in the summer of 2006. Hezbollah, the guerrilla group that waged the war seven years ago, didn’t appear to be involved in Sunday’s incident. Lebanon’s National News Agency confirmed the shooting by member of the Lebanese army. It wasn’t clear why the soldiers opened fire. The Lebanese army has opened fire in the past after saying Israeli soldiers had tried to infiltrate. Lebanese security officials didn’t immediately comment. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said Israel had protested "this outrageous breach of Israel’s sovereignty" with U.N. peacekeeping forces and heightened its state of preparedness. "We will […]

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Troops shot on Israel-Lebanon border

The border has witnessed sporadic violence since the war of 2006 The Israeli army has shot two Lebanese soldiers on the border, hours after an Israeli was killed by a Lebanese army sniper, the Israeli military has said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israeli troops opened fire after noticing "suspicious movement". There is no word on their condition and Lebanon has not yet commented. The shooting came hours after the 31-year-old Israeli soldier was shot dead after his vehicle was hit by up to 10 shots fired from the Lebanese side. The cross-border violence is the most serious since 2010, when an Israeli officer was shot dead by a Lebanese army sniper, sparking clashes in which three Lebanese soldiers were killed.

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Leviathan gas only in late 2017

Development of the Leviathan natural gas field will cost $8 billion and production will begin in late 2017 said Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL ) EVP Eastern Mediterranean Keith Elliott at the “Globes” 2013 Israel Business Conference. “Leviathan is our next major project in Israel.” Elliott continued, “Leviathan will be developed in stages, a domestic component and an export component. The expected cost of developing the field is $8 billion, and we’ll start production in late 2017, a year behind our initial estimate. The reasons for this are known, such as Israel’s export policy. We need an environment that supports investment. We intend to develop Leviathan as fast as we can, and we’re confident that the challenges will be solved. We’re committed to working with our Israeli partners and the Israeli government.” Commenting on the potential of oil at Leviathan, Elliott said, “We’ve […]

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Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean yield successes for Noble

Noble Energy Inc. announced it made an oil discovery in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico and a gas discovery off the Israeli coast. Noble, which has headquarters in Texas, said it encountered a 120-foot column of oil while drilling a discovery well in the Dantzler prospect in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The company said the discovery may hold more than 55 million barrels of oil equivalent. Off the Israeli coast, the company said a well in the Tamar Southwest prospect encountered more than 350 feet of natural gas. Noble said it estimated the gross resources of the field to be more than 640 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Tamar Southwest is located about 8 miles away from the Tamar field, one of the most substantial natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea. “These new discoveries, combined […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple