Bank of Israel says gas fields countered war loss

Gas production from Israel’s offshore Tamar field was enough to balance out the loss caused to the country’s gross domestic product by the summer conflict in the Gaza Strip, Globes reported on Sunday.

Based on figures from the Bank of Israel 2014 annual report, the Tamar field contributed 0.3% to the GDP last year, while the summer war between Israel and Hamas, whose cost on the Israeli side included blows to the tourism sector and disruption to business activity in the country’s south over the summer, drained a similar 0.3% from Israel’s GDP.

During 2013, gas supplies from the Tamar field added 0.8% to the GDP, according to the Bank of Israel.

“The improvement in the current account over the past two years is the direct result of the start of gas production from the Tamar field, which reduces the need to import fuel, as well as an improvement in the services account,” the central bank said.

According to the report, Israel’s account surplus was about $9 billion in 2014, equal to 3% of GDP, up from $6.9 billion in 2013 and just $2.1 billion in 2012.

The oil and gas exploration also reduced the demand for domestic credit, Globes reported, citing the bank.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together with Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom authorized the sale of natural gas from the Tamar gas field to private clients in Jordan.

Under the terms of the $500 million deal, the Tamar natural gas reservoir partnership will sell 1.87 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Jordanian companies Arab Potash and its affiliate Jordan Bromine over the next 15 years.

The deal has faced obstacles in both countries, stalling the agreement several times last year.

In December, Israel’s anti-trust authority sought to void the partnership that allows its chief companies — the US-based Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek Group — to develop the Leviathan and Tamar gas sites in the Mediterranean over concerns the companies would monopolize the market.

In February, the Tamar partnership signed a $1.2 billion deal with Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings to export five billion cubic meters of natural gas over the next five years.

In 2013, Israel decided to export 40 percent of the country’s offshore gas finds in an effort to transform Israel from an energy importer to a major player in the global gas market.