Israel’s energy minister said on Wednesday that more of the country’s natural gas reserves should be earmarked for export, amid renewed interest in offshore exploration and an ongoing debate on whether the gas should be kept for domestic use.
Huge gas deposits were discovered in the past 15 years off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, but the government, in order to ensure the local market has enough in the future, set limits on how much can be sold abroad.
The issue has been hotly debated for years and was reignited last month when Israel’s budget director warned that the country risked exporting too much, endangering energy security.
In 2022, energy companies in Israel produced 21.29 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, with just 9.21 bcm of it exported. The exports went to Egypt and Jordan.
Now Israel is at an energy crossroads.
