Does Israel Export Oil & Gas? – How Gaza War Affects Israel Energy Export-Import – What is the status of Tel Aviv’s pipeline project with Turkey and what is Cyprus’ role in this?
Why Does Israel Still Import Crude and Could That Change?
As part of the 1979 agreement, Egypt started to supply oil to Israel. That was crucial for the Jewish state given that its former partner, Iran, stopped supplying crude to Tel Aviv after the Islamic Revolution (January 1978 – February 1979). Prior to that, Tehran and Tel Aviv maintained close relations from 1953 to 1979 under the Pahlavi dynasty with the Israelis considering Iranians – non-Arabs – as natural allies at the time.
Even though Israel still largely remains an oil importer – receiving about 220,000 barrels a day of the commodity from its suppliers – the Jewish state began its first-ever crude oil exports in February 2023 from the mainly gas-producing Karish offshore field. The UK-based company Energean announced Israel’s admission to the “exporters” club on February 14. The cargo was sold as part of a marketing agreement with Vitol, an energy and commodities company, and sent to Europe.
How Israeli Offshore Gas Fields Created Export Opportunities
Meanwhile, the discovery of the Leviathan gas field 47 kilometers (29 miles) southwest of Tamar in 2010 was nothing short of a breakthrough. It is estimated that Leviathan contains 605 bcm of natural gas which is almost two-thirds of all gas discovered to date offshore Israel. The new field went into production in late 2019 and by 2021 surpassed Tamar providing over 50% of Israel’s natural gas.
Israel to Capitalize on EU Gas Market Amid Anti-Russia Sanctions
How Gaza War Affects Israel Energy Export-Import
Speaking to AP on November 7, Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou suggested that the Israeli-Turkish row over Gaza could narrow Tel Aviv’s gas trade options to building the proposed short offshore pipeline to Cyprus for processing and shipping to foreign markets. The Israeli-Hamas conflict “has changed the situation somewhat, and that’s where Cyprus has to take advantage of this emerging window of opportunity,” Papanastasiou said.
Meanwhile, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in early November, accusing Tel Aviv of creating an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”. The Arab country also signaled that it won’t sign a deal to provide electricity to Israel in exchange for water. It was planned that the agreement would be ratified last month.
As of yet, Israel has managed to overcome energy constraints while oil and gas costs have not been sent too high by the Gaza crisis. Nonetheless, the World Bank has warned that energy prices could be pushed into “uncharted waters” if the Palestinian-Israeli war spills over into neighboring regions.