Israeli gas sector strengthens with Chevron, Morocco deals

There were two notable developments in Israeli gas this week. 

The US energy giant Chevron announced Thursday its expansion plan for the Tamar gas field off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean, Israeli media reported. Chevron and its partners will invest a further $673 million in the field to expand it to include a third 150-kilometer-long (93 miles) pipeline. The goal is to get daily production to 1.6 billion cubic feet per day. At present, Tamar’s production capacity is 1.1 billion cubic feet. 

The Tamar expansion is expected to be done by 2025. The purpose of the expansion is to meet domestic demand and export more gas to Egypt and other countries, according to the reports.

Chevron’s partners in the field are the United Arab Emirates’ Mubadala Energy, the American-Israeli Isramco, the Israeli companies Tamar Petroleum and Dor Gas, and the American company Everest. 

On Wednesday, Israel’s NewMed Energy and its Gibraltar-based partner Adarco Energy announced they reached an oil and gas exploration agreement with the Moroccan government. The exploration will occur off Morocco’s Atlantic coast. NewMed Energy and Adarco will each own a 37.5% stake in the enterprise, with Morocco owning the remaining 25%, according to a NewMed Energy press release. 

Why it matters: Israel began producing natural gas in 2013 and is now becoming a major regional energy player. NewMed Energy announced its intention to expand into Morocco back in February. This followed Israel and Morocco agreeing to establish full diplomatic relations back in 2020 as part of the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords. 

Israeli gas exports to Egypt also hit a record high earlier this year. Israel also signed a deal in June to export gas to Europe via Egypt. 

Israel also started exporting gas to Jordan in 2020, despite the arrangement being unpopular in Jordan. 

Know more: The London-based Energean announced a new gas discovery off the Israeli coast in November.