“When I think of Middle Eastern nations with massive oil and gas reserves, Israel isn’t a country that comes to mind… ever, really. After all, Israel still imports 99% of its oil and 70% of its natural gas. In fact, for the last 60 years, energy companies there have basically drilled one dry hole after the next.
But that’s all getting ready to change in the coming years thanks to new drilling capabilities.
And Israel is set to shake up the energy landscape in the Middle East like no one has ever seen before.
Last week, Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP discovered an offshore oil and gas field with an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
According to the company’s Chairman, Ronny Halman, “The quantity of gas discovered… makes it the third-largest offshore discovery to date.”
It follows last June’s announcement of uncovering 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 800 million barrels of oil in Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan offshore fields.
Yet, for Israel, these discoveries are only the beginning. And investors should pay close attention.
That’s because Israel’s largest oil and gas opportunities aren’t offshore. They’re on land in the nation’s shale deposits.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, “The World Energy Council estimates Israel’s shale deposits, located some 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem, could ultimately yield as many as 250 billion barrels of oil.”
To put this into perspective, Israel could soon be the world’s third-largest nation in terms of proven oil reserves… behind Venezuela – which took the top spot last year – and Saudi Arabia.
To get an idea of the scope of these massive reserves, it would potentially be enough to cover the United States’ entire oil needs for the next 35 years.”
H/T FL
