Among other guidelines specified in the previous page, petroleum rights holders are also required to submit an Environmental Statement, to accompany their operation within the license area. The environmental statement is a part of the second supplement to the license documents and is an obligatory condition for the execution of the work program.
Environmental documents are conducted for the Ministry of Energy by request of the Ministry's Petroleum Commissioner, as an integral part of applications for exploration drills while environmental impact documents are to be submitted with applications for production drills, and with plans for development of petroleum and natural gas reservoirs.
When a petroleum right is granted, extended, or its work program amended by the Petroleum Commissioner, the Second Addition (Special conditions) establishes, among other things, environmental requirements. These requirements are an integral part of the license and the work program, and the right holders are bound by them.
When filing an application for approval of onshore or, offshore-drilling in Israeli sovereign waters, the applicant is required to prepare an environmental document, in compliance with the Petroleum Regulations (Authorization to depart from provisions of the Planning and Building Law) 5772-2012.
An application for approval of onshore or offshore-drilling in the Israeli exclusive economic zone (EEZ) requires preparing an environmental document that includes a monitoring program for the marine environment.
The following link leads to a list that includes all forms, documents and data required of petroleum rights holders, regarding the environmental aspect of the offshore activity.
Environmental Guidelines for Offshore Petroleum and Natural-Gas Exploration and Production.
The unique characteristics of the eastern Mediterranean basin render it particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards, hence there is a great need to take strict security and safety measures in order to prevent hazards and mitigate pollution resulting from oil and gas exploration and production activities. The environmental guidelines require the description of activities and their potential environmental impacts, and to set prevention and mitigation measures.
Environmental guidelines of the Petroleum Commissioner
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
The Ministry of Energy has initiated a SEA, encompassing the State of Israel's entire marine area, including sovereign waters and the EEZ, to weigh in environmental considerations in sustainable development of offshore oil and natural gas resources and to minimize potential harm to the ecosystem.
The blocks offered in OBR 2021 were delineated in line with the SEA conclusions and are concentrated in areas of low vulnerability and high knowledge gap.
as one can see in the maps enclosed in the following link:
The blocks offered in OBR 2021 were delineated in line with the SEA conclusions and are concentrated in areas of low vulnerability and high knowledge gap.