Israel Launches Upstream Round

Israel's offshore holds up to 6.6bn barrels of oil and 2,137bn m³ of natural gas. according to an independent survey performed lately by BeicipFranlab, for the Israeli energy ministry.

Those data were published November 15 when energy minister Yuval Steinitz launched the first offshore licensing round. During a media event he not only expressed his hopes for future discoveries, but also settled scores with opponents of the natural gas framework.

"For years the sea was shut, the gas was buried and the economy was stifled. Today we change this situation, and what was a national missed opportunity to the Israeli economy. In our vision Israel will become a natural gas superpower and a significant player in the eastern Med basin," Steinitz said in a statement.

He said that more attacks were still possible from the "gas undertakers" who stop at nothing in their attempt to keep gas in the ground.

The ministry will offer 24 blocks, each of them no more than 400 km² and at a distance of at least 7 km from the shore. The licences will be awarded for a three-year period with an extension option of another three years. In order to secure the execution of the proposals, each licensee will have to deposit $2.5mn-$10 mn.

There are also other critieria for creditworthiness that companies must satisfy before meeting the threshold set by the government.

Israel's energy minister, Yuval Steinitz

Proposals have to be submitted by 21 April 2017 and the results are due to be published three months later, in July 2017.

Ya'acov Zalel