Minister of National Infrastructures Eliezer Sandberg has initiated a proposal, to set up a team to examine the feasibility of importing natural gas from Russia, on the basis of exchanges between the Israel and Russian governments, and Russian natural gas giant Gazprom. Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Eli Ronen will head the team. The proposal will be submitted to the cabinet for approval in a few weeks. The government will finance the study.
"Globes" reported last week that Sandberg supports bringing in Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, as Israel's fourth supplier.
Israel currently has only one natural gas supplier with an actual contract - Yam Thetis, which owns natural gas fields offshore from Ashkelon. Yam Thetis has an 11-year, $2 billion contract to supply natural gas to Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). IEC is also negotiating a contract with Egyptian company Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG) to supply $2 billion worth of natural gas over 15 years. The result of these negotiations will become clear in a few months.
British Gas, which has discovered large natural gas fields offshore from Gaza, is supposed to be the third supplier. British Gas has not yet begun deliveries from the Gaza gas fields, while it searches for customers for all the reserves, estimated at several billion dollars. British Gas has one major customer so far: Ofer Brothers, which will use the gas for the power stations it is due to build.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 18, 2004