by Tzvi Joffre
Hezbollah had warned that Israel would be crossing a "red line" if it extracted gas before a deal is officially signed.
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Energean rig at Karish Field
(photo credit: ENERGEAN)
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The Energean company began extracting natural gas from the Karish field, the company confirmed on Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day after the Energy Ministry granted Energean permission to start production at the field and a day before the cabinet is set to approve the maritime border demarcation deal with Lebanon.
Gas sales to Energean's customers are expected to begin in the coming days, according to the company.
The Energean Power FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) and the sales gas pipeline have an ultimate capacity of 8 bcm per year, with the initial capacity sitting at 6.5 bcm per year.
Commercial gas sales should reach the initial level in about four to six months. Additional infrastructure planned by Energean in the area should bring production to 8 bcm per year.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that Lebanon has "no problem" with Israel beginning to extract gas since a deal has been reached, even though it hasn't been signed yet.
The extraction of gas before a deal is signed was declared as a "red line" by the Hezbollah terrorist movement in recent months. Earlier this month, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah stressed that a deal could only be considered as reached after it was signed by both sides in Naqoura.
"I am delighted to confirm that Energean has reached first gas at the Karish field, offshore Israel," said Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean. "We have delivered a landmark project that brings competition to the Israeli gas market, enhances security of energy supply in the East Med region and brings affordable and clean energy that will displace coal-fired power generation, making a material impact to the environment.
“We are committed to reach our medium-term targets of 200 kboed production and $1.75 billion of annualised EBITDAX and the delivery of the Karish project is a major milestone towards this goal. We are now focused on ramping up production and delivering the full 8 bcm capacity through our expansion project to the Energean Power FPSO.”
Israel, Lebanon to sign maritime border deal on Thursday
The Israeli cabinet is set to approve the maritime border demarcation agreement with Lebanon on Thursday morning.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid will sign the agreement in Jerusalem and the Israeli negotiating team will then travel to the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura for a signing ceremony in which Lebanon, the US and UN officials will take part, although the Lebanese and Israeli delegations will not interact.
The Lebanese L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper reported on Wednesday that the members of the Lebanese delegation which will sign the deal in Naqoura still have not been decided on.
According to the report, US mediator Amos Hochstein will bring the agreement to President Michel Aoun to sign in Beirut on Thursday morning.
Later in the day, a Lebanese delegation will travel to Naqoura and will sign the agreement there as well. The Lebanese delegation and the Israeli delegation will sign the deal in separate rooms and give the signed agreement to Hochstein who will give it to the UN.
The Lebanese side is working to ensure that the deal is not seen as a form of normalization between Lebanon and Israel, according to L'Orient-Le Jour.
Tzvi Joffre
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-720664
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