Energean launches gas flow tests at Karish field
Energean announced on October 10 it had launched gas flow from the Karish field off the coast of Israel, after securing approval to do so from local authorities.
Israel's energy ministry has approved "certain testing procedures," Energean said, and the first gas has been test-flowed from the field's floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit to the Israeli coast. The company said this was an important step in the commissioning process.
The development comes as Israel and Lebanon inch towards resolving a long-standing dispute over their shared maritime border. Lebanon has in the past laid claim to part of the Karish field, while Israel argues it is fully within its own territory. The US is serving as a mediator in the disagreement.
The two sides have made some tangible progress recently, with both countries' officials giving cautious welcome to a draft deal at the start of the month that would resolve the dispute. But they have both sought amendments since then in the wake of domestic opposition.
On October 9, however, Lebanese president Michel Aoun announced that ongoing talks with Israel had ended and that he was expecting to receive a final proposal within hours.
"Aoun received a phone call from the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, during which he briefed him on the latest results of the talks," the president's office said, adding that [Hochstein] would send the final version of the proposal in the next few hours."
Lebanon's government will review the final wording of the proposal and make a decision.
Also with an interest in the dispute is Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which flew three unarmed drones towards the Karish field in July. Israel shot down all of the drones, and vowed to beef up security around its energy infrastructure.
The Karish field contains an estimated 1.41 trillion ft3 of gas in proven and probable reserves. It had been expected online as early as the first quarter of this year, but COVID-19 restrictions in Singapore, where its FPSO was built, slowed down progress.