The Ministry of Energy announces that today, Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the Commissioner for Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy, Chen Bar Yosef, green lighted the Energean company to start producing natural gas from the Karish reservoir.
The Minister of Energy, Karin Elharrar, stated: “As we promised, as soon as the safety and technical tests were completed, approval was given today for the commencement of natural gas production from the Karish reservoir. The production from the reservoir comes after a great deal of effort on the part of the company and the employees of the Ministry of Energy. The production will contribute greatly to meeting the needs of the local market and meeting Israel’s international obligations.”
The Petroleum Commissioner at the Ministry of Energy, Chen Bar Yosef, stated: “The efforts put in by the Ministry’s engineers and Energean’s engineers have borne fruit, and production can commence. In the coming days and weeks, the commissioning processes and the professional tests that will accompany them will be completed in order to enable regular and continuous production for the Israeli market.”
The connection of the “Karish” natural gas production platform bolsters Israel as a significant supplier of natural gas, and will make it possible to increase the export of natural gas to Egypt and Jordan and from there to other countries in Europe that need an additional source of natural gas following the global energy crisis. The export of natural gas improves Israel’s position in the field and contributes to the country from a geopolitical point of view, while reserving the amount of natural gas needed for the consumption of the local market. This move also has enormous economic significance for the local energy sector and the Israeli economy. In addition, this step, like many other moves promoted by the Ministry of Energy, helps Israel and countries such as Egypt and Jordan to reduce the use of polluting fuels such as coal and oil, and dramatically lowers air pollution.
It would be prudent to note that the construction of the “Karish” natural gas platform is another outcome of the natural gas plan, the interim period of which successfully concluded last year. Following the outline, Israel will have three separate natural gas reservoirs connected to the local market through three separate and independent production systems, which guarantees the Israeli economy energy independence.
The FPSO “Karish” natural gas production platform is located about 80 km. west of the country’s shores and joins the “Tamar” and “Leviathan” platforms that are currently active and supply natural gas to the Israeli market. The operation of “Karish” will significantly bolster the surplus supply and energy security of the State of Israel, when, for the first time in history, natural gas will flow from three different and independent sources. The expected supply of natural gas from “Karish” has already helped to increase competition, when it allowed all customers to choose the supplier that suits them and of course led to a significant price drop in the market.
The natural gas will flow to the platform from the wells located at a water depth of 1,700 meters and at an underground depth of 3 - 4 km., through an underwater pipeline where it will be treated, streamed to the national transmission system and from there to consumers throughout the country.