COP27: Israel says big boost in gas supply to Europe will take years

1CM

11/11/2022 18:38

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Israel will
require several years before it can significantly increase its
natural gas supplies to Europe, the country's energy ministry
said on Friday.
    Israel and neighboring Egypt had signed a memorandum of
understanding with the European Union in June to ship more gas
to the bloc as it seeks to diversify away from Russia.
    Asked when new supplies would be delivered under that
framework deal, Lior Schillat, the director-general of the
Ministry of Energy, said it would be a while.
    "In the short term, there will be some increase but the big
numbers will come later," he told Reuters on the sidelines of
the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
    Israel has become an energy exporter following a number of
offshore gas discoveries over the past decade. It has been
increasing the amount it sells to neighbors Egypt and Jordan and
is studying the option of shipping more to Egypt, where it can
be liquefied and sold to more distant markets as LNG.
    Schillat said that Israel was expecting to be able to
sharply increase its gas production over three to four years,
possibly doubling it, which would provide significant volumes
above and beyond its domestic needs for export.
    He said Israel was preparing for this by exploring ways to
expand pipeline capacity to Egypt.
    "It is true that most of our surplus gas will be created in
the next three to four years," he said. 
    "So clearly, it's not an immediate ability to supply gas in
the in the short term. We're talking about a relatively low
amount here," he said.
    Israel has a few offshore gas fields. The largest,
Leviathan, is mostly earmarked for export
    Output from Leviathan was 2.8 billion cubic meters in the
second quarter of 2022, 2.0 BCM of which went to Egypt and
Jordan.
    Israel is awaiting a proposal from Leviathan's operators
NewMed and Chevron Corp  CVX.N  to expand the field, Schillat
said.
 (Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by David Gregorio)
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