Energy Security Issues Contribute to Decision to Develop Gas Field
Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure has granted approval to Noble Energy to build the "Noa North" gas field to help Israel deal with a severe shortage of natural gas supplies in the country beginning in late 2012.
Noble will begin development of the small “Noa North” natural gas reservoir to bridge any gaps that might occur between the depletion of the Mari-B Yam Tethys supply and the opening of the Tamar gas reserves.
The Noa North gas field can potentially yield natural gas totaling 1.2 billion cubic meters.
Noble also responsible for the development of the large Tamar and Leviathan gas reserves off the coast of Haifa.
“This is an important decision,” said Prof. Brenda Shaffer, an expert on energy policy and management at the University of Haifa. “It means that they are indeed recognizing publicly that there will be a gap between the end of Yam Tethys and the beginning of production at Tamar. It probably also means that they can’t get LNG on buoy here on time.”
“I think that the Noa development is required to bridge the gap in the gas supply between the depletion of the Mari-B and the commissioning of the Tamar field,” said Dr. Amit Mor, CEO and energy specialist at the Eco Energy consulting firm. “That small field, which would not have been developed otherwise, is required to supply gas or serve as a backup for supplying gas to oil refineries and possibility to other consumers in case there is be a lack of gas during this interim period.
This will be an important insurance to securing the supply of gas during this interim period in case there is a lack of gas due to geopolitical reasons (Egyptian gas) or technical delays in Tamar.”
“It should be noted that in regular gas supp ly conditions, this field would not have been developed because it’s a small field. And also the fast extraction will kill this field,” Mor said, explaining that removing 1.2 billion cubic meters from Noa now will prevent further such procedures there in the future due to the mechanics involved with fast extractions.
But still, Mor maintained, drilling quickly now will be worth the future sacrifice.
“It is necessary as a security premium,” he said.
Source: Jerusalem Post