User:Fettuccineplant

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Energy In Israel and Palestine[edit]

Natural Gas In Israel[edit]

Natural Gas is a fossil fuel created through the natural application of heat and pressure on plant and animal life, over thousands of years. In most of the world oil accounts for just less than half of the energy used and natural gas accounts for 11 percent. [1]. Since Israel’s creation in 1948 it has been energy dependent on imports from other countries.[2]. Specifically, Israel both produces and consumes around 6.86 cubic meters of natural gas per year, leading to the need for it to import another 720 cubic meters of natural gas from outside sources. [3]. Historically, Israel has imported it's natural gas through the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline in Egypt.[4]. For the reason of a historic reliance on natural gas imports, the 2009 and 2010 discoveries of the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields off the coast of Israel were important discoveries. Judging by their size and amount of natural gas (Leviathan has around 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas) [5] these two fields could result in a large economic shift, making Israel energy secure for more than 50 years and giving Israel the the ability to export gas.[6] In 2013 Israel began commercial production of the natural gas from the Tamar field. There are currently plans to pipe the natural gas from the Tamar field through a pipeline in Ashdod, a city in Israel, and then turn it into liquefied natural gas, a plan which is expected to begin in 2017.[7] Similarly, there are plans to begin exploitation of the Leviathan field by as early as 2016. [8].

Energy in Palestinian Territories[edit]

Palestinians do not produce oil or natural gas and are almost entirely dependent on the Israel Electricity Corporation for electricity.[9] The Palestinian territories only produce 445 million kilowatt-hours of electricity which meets 10 percent of their demand. [10] The Palestinian territories do not extract any natural gas from the natural gas fields under their jurisdiction, such as the Gaza Marine gas field, they do not consume any natural gas either, even from imports. However, Israel has plans to supply the Palestinian territories with natural gas upon the commencement of their production of the Leviathan gas field.

Gaza Marine Gas Field[edit]

The Gaza Marine Gas Field was discovered in 2000 off the coast of Gaza in water which is legally under the control of the Palestinian Authority. It is located about 36 kilometers offshore and 2,000 feet below the water.[11] It has around 1.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and has an estimated profit worth of 2.4 to 7 billion dollars.[12][unreliable source?]. In 1999, the then leader of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, made a deal with the BG, British Gas, that gave BG 25 years to explore and tap into the oil fields.[13] In 2000, British Gas discovered the Gaza Marine gas field. This oil field has enough energy to supply Palestinian territories with sufficient energy and still have have a surplus to to export, making the Palestinian territories more energy independent.[14] After this agreement was signed in 1999 the rights were divided, BG had 60 percent, Consolidated Contractors had 30 percent, and the Invenstment Fund of the Palestinian Authority had the remaining 10 percent.[15] Although there have been many attempts to strike deals with BG to tap into the Gaza Marine Gas Field, it is still unexploited. Two of the main, separate, parties involved in the negotiations have been the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) and Egypt, who would convert the natural gas into liquefied natural gas to export. [16] The gas field remains unexploited for a number of reasons. The Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF), stakeholders of 10% of the profits of the gas field, are ostensibly under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). With the 2006 election results in the Palestinian territories which led to Hamas, a group recognized by the international community as a terrorist group, gaining control of the parliament, Israel feared any possible gas deal would lead to the PIF, and therefore Hamas, gaining extra funding. Israel stalled the dealings. [17]

references[edit]

  1. ^ Bahgat, Gawdat. "I Srael's ENergy SEcurity: REgional IMplications." Middle East Policy 18.3 (2011): 25-34. Academic Search Complete
  2. ^ Blanche, Ed. "Israeli Gas Finds Could Prove A Game Changer." Middle East 416 (2010): 22-25. Academic Search Complete
  3. ^ The World Factbook 2013-14. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
  4. ^ "Israel - Country Analysis Note." Http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=is. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mar. 2014. Web
  5. ^ "Israel - Country Analysis Note." Http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=is. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mar. 2014. Web
  6. ^ Bahgat, Gawdat. "I Srael's ENergy SEcurity: REgional IMplications." Middle East Policy 18.3 (2011): 25-34. Academic Search Complete.
  7. ^ "Israel - Country Analysis Note." Http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=is. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mar. 2014. Web
  8. ^ "Israel - Country Analysis Note." Http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=is. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mar. 2014. Web
  9. ^ Henderson, Simon. "Natural Gas in the Palestinian Authority: The Potential of the Gaza Marine Offshore Field." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 53.3 (2012): 296. Mar. 2014. Web.
  10. ^ "Palestinian Territories- Country Analysis Note." http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=pt. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mar. 2014. Web.
  11. ^ Henderson, Simon. "Natural Gas in the Palestinian Authority: The Potential of the Gaza Marine Offshore Field." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 53.3 (2012): 296. Mar. 2014. Web.
  12. ^ Chossudovsky, Michel. "War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields." Global Research. N.p., 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 03 May 2015
  13. ^ Chossudovsky, Michel. "War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields." Global Research. N.p., 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 03 May 2015.
  14. ^ Antreasyan, Anais. “Gas Finds in the Eastern Mediterranean.”Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Spring 2013), pp. 29-47
  15. ^ Chossudovsky, Michel. "War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields." Global Research. N.p., 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 03 May 2015.
  16. ^ Henderson, Simon. "Natural Gas in the Palestinian Authority: The Potential of the Gaza Marine Offshore Field." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 53.3 (2012): 296. Mar. 2014. Web.
  17. ^ Turner, Mark. "Gaza Siege Intensified after Collapse of Natural Gas Deal." N.p., 22 Jan. 2008. Web.
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