Israel opening offshore gas doors

JERUSALEM, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- An Israeli decision to exploit offshore natural gas reserves is an important milestone for the nation's economy, the country's prime minister said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support after members of government cleared the way toward full development of offshore natural gas reserves.

"We need to extract the gas from the sea," the prime minister said in a statement. "The gas will be extracted from the bottom of the sea and will reach Israeli citizens, Israeli industry and the Israeli economy - for the benefit of the citizens of Israel."

The Israel Antitrust Authority had ruled that Israeli energy company Delek Group and its partners at Noble Energy, which has headquarters in Texas, control all of the gas reservoirs off the nation's coast.

Both companies control the Leviathan natural gas field, considered one of the region's largest with an estimated 18 trillion cubic feet of reserves. They also control the nearby Tamar, estimated to hold as much as 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

A compromise deal surfaced in December whereby Delek and Noble would sell their stakes in the Karish and Tanin fields off the coast of Israel, which combine for an average 20.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves, in exchange for maintaining their holdings in the Leviathan and Tamar fields.

The latest agreement from the Israelis means Netanyahu now has an opportunity to clear the anti-trust hurdles in the way of full offshore development.

"This outline will pass one way or another, and it is about time that it does," he said. "The true interests of the State of Israel require the passage of this outline as quickly as possible."

There was no public statement made available by Delek or Noble Energy regarding the Israeli framework decision.