Delek Israel Fuel Corp. has signed a $100 million deal to purchase gas from the
Tamar reservoir for the next seven years to distribute within the industrial and
transportation sectors.
The Delek Israel Fuel Corp. board members, in
conjunction with the partners of the Tamar reservoir, approved the purchasing
agreement Wednesday morning. They informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that the
gas would be available over the course of 2013.
To make its way toward
customers, the gas will be carried both by open distribution systems as well as
through a compressed natural-gas (CNG) compression facility, which is currently
in its licensing and construction phases at the Delek Pi-Glilot site in
Ashdod.
“The Israeli government decided on reducing dependence on oil,
and the transportation market is ready for the entry of gas,” Delek Israel Fuel
Corp.
CEO Avi Ben Assayag said. “Gas fuel will lead to a revolution in
Israel.”
Delek Israel Fuel Corp. is a subsidiary of the Delek Group and
holds about 23 percent of Israel’s fuel-sector market.
The Tamar
reservoir, which has been online and providing a source of electricity to the
national grid since the spring, holds about 282 billion cubic meters of natural
gas. At Tamar, Houston- based Noble Energy holds 36%, Delek Drilling and Avner
Oil Exploration, which are both subsidiaries of the Delek Group, each own
15.625%, while Isramco owns 28.75% and Dor Gas owns 4%.
The neighboring
and much larger Leviathan natural-gas field holding about 535 b.cu.m. of gas and
will only be online in a few years. A slightly different group of partners are
the stakeholders in Leviathan, with Noble Energy owning 39.66%, Delek Drilling
and Avner Oil Exploration each owning 22.67% and Ratio Oil Exploration holding
15%.
Delek Israel Fuel Corp.’s agreement is part of the company’s broader
initiative to market natural gas to the industry and transportation sectors in
Israel, the company said. The firm is already the leading supplier of natural
gas both through distribution networks and through CNG, to plants that have not
yet or never will receive hookups to the natural-gas pipelines, Delek
said.
The company is promoting the use of CNG and natural gas in general
as an alternative to gasoline and diesel in transportation. Natural gas allows
for savings of up to 50% compared to the other fuels, in addition to
significantly reducing pollution levels, Delek said.
In collaboration
with the Energy, Water and National Infrastructures Ministry, Delek Israel Fuel
Corp. is also in the process of building a CNG fueling station to be located in
Tzifrin, the company said.
“We believe that as in many countries around
the world, Israel will also transfer to using natural gas in industry and in
transportation, mainly thanks to the cheap price compared to fuel and lower air
pollution,” Assayag said. “We are committed to bringing the message of natural
gas to every factory and area in Israel and providing the industrial factories
with the opportunity to succeed in the face of international competition.”
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