Israel’s Gas – A Hook in Russia’s Jaw?

Russia’s Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, was back in Israel this week meeting with Delek Group executives to ‘examine possible cooperation’ in producing and delivering natural gas to Europe from Israel’s newly discovered massive gas fields in the Mediterranean.

According to a Globes Business report, “Gazprom’s aims are still unclear. The major concern in Israel’s gas exploration sector is that the Russian energy company wants to block possible gas exports to Europe. Even if Israel’s Leviathan is a relatively minor player in the European gas market compared with the Russian giant, the prices agreed upon and types of contracts signed by Israeli companies could create unwelcome precedents from Gazprom’s point of view.”

The report goes on to say that Gazprom is the world’s largest natural gas producer and, unlike other multi-national energy companies, has no concerns over Arab boycott threats.

For more than three years, OilinIsrael.net has been reporting on Gazprom’s attempts to participate in and plans to control the Mediterranean and European gas markets (see “Russia Tried to Buy in to Israel’s Gas Discovery”). Gazprom isn’t merely the world’s largest natural gas supplier, it is a company controlled by the Russian government. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, was Gazprom’s CEO before taking his current position as head of state.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote: “‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Gog (Russia), chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army …’” (Ezekiel 38:3-4)

“On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people (Israel) —all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” (Ezekiel 38:10-12)

The Bible prophesies that, one day, God will ‘put a hook’ in Russia’s jaw to draw it down into Israel, where it will plan to ‘plunder and loot’ an ‘unsuspecting people’. Are Israel’s newly discovered natural gas fields and, eventually, it’s oil the ‘hook’ that draws Russia into Israel? That may be.

But if it’s so, Russia had better take warning in Ezekiel’s prophecy:

“This is what will happen in that day: When Gog (Russia) attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’” (Ezekiel 38:18-23)

If there is an “evil scheme” brewing in the mind of Gog, I would advise Gazprom, and Russia’s President, Mr. Medvedev of the one lesson that continues to repeat itself throughout history: Don’t mess with Israel.

Zion Oil Releases 2012 ‘Joseph Project’ Video

Zion Oil & Gas debuted it’s 2012 Corporate video, “The Joseph Project”, during last week’s National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. In the video Zion Founder John Brown reviews the company’s mission and vision for Israel. Zion CEO Richard Rinberg and COO Victor Carrillo share their thoughts on the recent and future exploration activities.

Zion Oil & Gas is dedicated to finding and producing oil and gas in Israel.

Zion Announces Plans for Two Wells in 2012

February 21, 2012, Nashville, TN

Zion President and COO, Victor Carrillo, during a press conference at the 2012 National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, announced yesterday that Zion plans to re-enter the Elijah 3 well in the Asher-Menashe Exploration territory. Carrillo stated that Zion Oil & Gas plans to re-enter the well bore late this Spring in order to evaluate the well’s production potential and to determine if the well should be completed.
Zion began drilling operations at the Elijah 3 well in October 2009. Their target depth was toward the Triassic geological formation, which was estimated below approximately 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Zion reached a depth of 10,938 feet (3,334 meters) but temporarily suspended drilling operations in the well following unsuccessful efforts to retrieve a stuck pipe.
Carrillo also announced in yesterday’s press conference, that later this year, Zion plans to begin drilling its first well in the company’s Jordan Valley license.

Zion Oil & Gas hold the largest on-shore oil and gas exploration license area in Israel.

“Breaking The Treasure Code” Tells the Story of Israel’s Oil Discovery

Israel sitting on 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas? An ancient Bible prophecy fulfilled?

Yes!

Breaking the Treasure Code: The Hunt For Israel’s Oil tells the story of the prophecy leading to Israel’s oil discovery and its fulfillment today. In light recent exploration and of Israel’s breaking news of a massive natural gas discovery off the coast of Haifa, this book and its implications are more relevant today than ever.

Joel Rosenberg, author of Epicenter says, “Israel? Proven Reserves? Billions? When I read those words, the hair on the back of my neck stood ss.comup … Little did I know.”

Joseph Farah of World Net Daily says, “If you read one book on Israel in prophecy this year, pick this one.”

Jack Kinsella of The Omega Letter says, “Breaking the Treasure Code is both fascinating and relevant.”

If you haven’t read this important book yet, get it, read it, and watch Bible prophecy unfold into one of the greatest news stories of this century!

Buy Breaking the Treasure Code: The Hunt for Israel’s Oil by clicking the ‘Add to Cart’ button below, or order by phone toll free (888) 543-8028. (P.S. Don’t forget to order an extra copy to share with your pastor, a relative or friend.)

Noble Energy Discovers Gas Offshore Cyprus

Tamar $5 billion gas deal with Dalia Power

(from Natural Gas Asia) Delek Drilling-LP (DEDRL) and its partners in Israel’s Tamar gas field have signed a $5 billon agreement to supply Dalia Power Energies Ltd. with natural gas for 17 years.

Bloomberg reports that Tel Aviv-based Dalia Power is building a power station using natural gas at the Tzafit site in central Israel. Once completed, the plant would supply some 8 per cent of national energy consumption, making it one of the country’s biggest privately operated power stations.
Israel is encouraging the development of independent power producers to introduce competition in a market monopolized by state-owned Israel Electric Corp.
“This is one of several deals that we expect to come,” said Richard Gussow, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in Tel Aviv.

In November of last year, South Korean giant Daewoo signed a deal with the partners in the Tamar field, (Noble, Delek Group and Isramco Inc.) to develop the Tamar gas field. Daewoo expects to produce liquefied natural gas from the field by the end of 2016. Estimates put the field to have 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Lebanon joins volatile Med gas scramble

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 6 (UPI) — Lebanon has raised the stakes in the high-octane poker game under way in the natural gas-rich eastern Mediterranean by approving a law to administer offshore exploration and drilling, joining Israel, Cyprus and Turkey in a potentially explosive race for energy riches.

The Beirut government laid down the regulations for the emerging energy industry Wednesday.

“If all goes as scheduled,” said Cesar Abi Khalil, an Energy Ministry adviser, “the licensing round will be held this year.

“The companies will have six months to bid and then the winners will be chosen and exploration will begin.”

Energy expert Roudi Baroudi estimates that Lebanon’s reserves total three times those of Libya’s 54 trillion cubic feet. That’s probably a major overestimate. But it’s certain to heighten tension in the region triggered by Israel’s discovery of major gas fields off its coast, a drive by nearby Cyprus to follow suit and Turkey’s threat to send in its navy to stop the other two from joining forces to exploit the region’s energy riches.

On top of this, Beirut claims parts of the Israeli gas fields lie in Lebanese waters. The two countries are technically at war.

Hezbollah, the heavily armed, Iranian-backed Lebanese “resistance movement,” has warned it will repel Israeli efforts to “plunder” what it considers Lebanese energy reserves. Israel has vowed to use force to protect its assets.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 in which Lebanon’s infrastructure was heavily bombed. The seasoned Lebanese fighters battled Israel’s vaunted military to a standstill and claimed a “divine victory.”

Both sides view the inconclusive conflict as unfinished business.

It remains to be seen whether the dispute over the vast natural gas reserves, along with several billion barrels of oil, in the Levant Basin will be the trigger for renewed war.

But the bottom line is the infrastructure Israel is building, including offshore platforms and export terminals, is vulnerable to attack by Hezbollah, and even Syria and Iran.

If Beirut’s drive to get in on the regional energy boom does actually get under way, and that’s a big “if” since the threat of conflict could scare off potential investors, Lebanon will find itself in the same boat.

In theory, that could create a version of the Cold War concept of mutually assured destruction between the United States and the Soviet Union that prevented an atomic Armageddon from 1949-99.

It could, optimists argue, push the adversaries toward some sort of peace agreement.

But after more than 60 years of incessant warfare no one’s holding their breath.

Israel hit pay dirt in 2009-10, when Houston company Nobel Energy and its Israeli partner, Delek Drilling, found gas reserves totaling some 25 tcf — and that figure could increase as the full extent of the finds becomes known.

The main fields are Leviathan, with some 16 tcf of gas and believed to extend northward into Cypriot waters already dubbed the Aphrodite field, and Tamar with 8 tcf.

The prize is immense. The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2010 that the Levant Basin, contains as much as 123 billion tcf of recoverable gas, the equivalent of 20 billion barrels of oil.

Moving into Cypriot waters takes the thorny issue into the embrace of yet another conflict, the age-old friction between Greece and Turkey and the frontline of that dispute, the divided island of Cyprus which has no energy resources of its own.

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 following a short-lived, Athens-engineered coup by supporters of union with Greece. The Turks seized the north and declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It’s recognized only by Ankara. The Greek Cypriot administration in the south is universally recognized.

The Turks, led by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claims Nicosia has no right to explore for gas because the Cyprus issue has not been settled.

Add to this that Israel and Turkey, once strong allies, fell out in 2010 and are now bitter rivals, and the animosity just gets worse.

The Greek Cypriots are increasingly aligned with Israel under a plan to jointly export their gas by pipeline to the energy-hungry European Union via Greece, thus sharpening tensions with Turkey.

Nobel Energy, which spearheads exploration off Cyprus as well, has already reported initial indications of at least 7 tcf of gas in Aphrodite.

That’s sure to stir things up.

 

133 million barrels of oil estimated at Yam Hadera

Modiin Energy LP (TASE:MDIN.L), controlled by Tzahi Sultan and Nochi Dankner through IDB Development Corp. Ltd., today [Sunday] announced that Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. (NSAI) estimates that the offshore Yam Hadera license has a best estimate of gross recoverable reserves of 133 million barrels of oil and 1.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas, with a geologic probability of success of 25-29%. For the sake of comparison, the Tamar reservoir has an estimated 9 TCF of gas and Leviathan has an estimated 16 TCF.

Modiin fully owns the Yam Hadera license, which comprises of three formations – Barnea, Shderot, and Zohar – in two sections, the northern and southern closures. The license is located 30 kilometers offshore between Hadera and Haifa. The license is valid through February 14, 2013. The survey covered a 485-square kilometer area and cost $4.4 million.

The low-end estimate is 49.7 million barrels of oil and the high-end estimate is 343.5 million barrels. The oil and gas are found in Cretaceous strata.

“We do not usually hold press conferences, but this time we decided to make an exception since the results from Yam Hadera are very significant,” IDB CEO Haim Gavrieli said this morning.

Sultan said, “We are currently one of the most liquid partnerships in the market. We are considering partnerships with local and foreign entities or remaining 100% private. I must say that we have had many offers for partnerships, some of which were quite surprising.”

On Wednesday, Modiin will provide the Ministry of Infrastructure with a drilling proposal, and will sign an agreement with the drilling rig by February 1. Drilling is slated to begin by June 1. The company estimates the cost of drilling at NIS 70-100 million.

Modiin Energy’s share price rose 1.6% in early trading today to NIS 0.38, giving a market cap of NIS 720 million.

Modiin Energy’s share price rose 1.6% in early trading today to NIS 0.38, giving a market cap of NIS 720 million.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on December 4, 2011

Israel Laying Undersea Gas Lines

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro recently visited the Solitaire vessel which is laying the pipeline for the Tamar gas field in the east basin of the Mediterranean. The “Solitaire” is the largest pipe-laying ship in the world at 300 meters long and 96,000 tons. When fully operational she has a crew of 420, a pipe carrying capacity of 22,000 tons and a pipe lay speed of more than 9 km a day. This gas pipeline will travel to a pumping station on the coast of Northern Israel where it will be joined to Israel’s gas pipeline infrastructure supplying, among other needs, the nation’s electrical generating stations.

Greece plans to export Israeli gas to Europe

The new government in Athens could open a pipeline to export natural gas from countries including Israel to destinations in northern Europe, as Greece seeks to become a regional center for the transit of this energy source.

“We are trying to make Greece the hub for gas transit to northern European countries either via Italy or through the Balkans,” Greece’s environment, energy and climate change minister stressed to The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview on Monday morning in Jerusalem.

The minister, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, was the first Greek official to visit Israel since the country’s November 11 formation of a new coalition unity government headed by interim Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.

(Read Full Jerusalem Post Article)

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