ISRAEL DISCOVERS GAS!

ISRAEL DISCOVERS GAS!


The Houston-based Noble Energy company, drilling for Israel?s Delek fuel ompany, announced that it has discovered a huge deposit of natural gas nder the Mediterranean Sea near Haifa. Infrastructures Minister Binyamin en-Eliezer (Labor) said that the find was of historic proportions, and hat it could change the face of Israels economy.

Eighty-seven billion cubic meters, or nearly 3.1 trillion cubic feet, of high-quality gas are estimated to be in three deposits in the Tamar Drilling site, which is amed for Delek owner Yitzchak Teshuva?s granddaughter. Teshuva said that
the find marks a historic milestone and a great holiday for Israel, and hat he has no doubt it will supply Israels energy needs for many ecades to come.

Stock prices in the Delek company jumped 38% following
the announcement, and its daughter company, Delek Drilling, has jumped ven higher. The gas is located 90 kilometers west of Haifa, between srael and Cyprus, but the rights to the Cypriot drilling sites are also wned by Teshuvah.

The depth of the water above the find is 1.7
kilometers, over a mile, and the gas is located another 4.9 kilometers eep in an area 140 meters wide. In light of the positive results from the inds, a $20 million test drill will be carried out over the next three eeks. Coal Plant: The End? The discovery is likely to put an end to plans o build a coal energy plant in Ashkelon.

MK Rabbi Michael Melchior, of the Meimad-Green movement, said after the announcement of the gas find, ?Until now, proponents for the coal plant said that Israel could not afford to rely on natural gas from hostile countries.

But now, we must bury the plans for the coal plant, which would be dangerous to the health f the residents in the area. Instead, a plant fueled by green, Israeli natural gas must be built there, with minimal health risks and great financial benefits to Israel?s economy.

 
 Top of page