Israeli company Ratio Energies, which owns 15% of the Leviathan natural gas reservoir, reported $82 million in revenues and $28 million in net profit – a respective 14% and 12% increase over the same quarter last year.
According to Ratio Energies, 2.7 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas was sold from the Leviathan reservoir in Q1, of which 1.8 BCM was exported to Egypt and Jordan.
"The agreement we signed during the first quarter to open an additional natural gas transmission route to Egypt via Jordan is proving itself and enables us to respond to the growing demand for natural gas from customers in countries in the region alongside regular delivery to the local market," said Ratio Energies CEO Yigal Landau. "We believe that the Leviathan reservoir will be able to contribute to gas supplies to European countries as part of the process of diversifying supply sources,” he said.
Israel's role as an energy supplier
Experts have speculated that Israel could become a more important source for Europe’s energy needs, especially in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war that has ravaged global energy supplies.
While the Leviathan natural gas field contains 22 trillion cubic feet, the Tamar natural gas field off the coast of the Mediterranean sea contains a further 10.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – while there are also talks of reviving the all-but abandoned EastMed pipeline, which was announced in 2016 as a means to transfer natural gas from Israeli waters to Europe via Greece and Cyprus.
Israel began supplying natural gas in 2017 when Jordan signed a 15-year, $10 billion supply deal. Israel has exported gas to Egypt since 2016 and is expected to substantially increase the amount in 2022.
Natural gas prices have risen 14% since last quarter, largely due to sanctions and the reshuffling of global energy supplies.
Zachy Hennessey contributed to this report.