Israeli gas ambitions will fall short

Subject

Israel's gas sector.

Significance

The second Israeli offshore bidding round for 19 blocks closed on July 15, attracting bids from only two consortia for twelve of the 19 blocks on offer. The first consortium consisted of the UK-based companies Cairn Energy and SOCO International along with Israeli company Ratio Oil. The second consortium comprised the Greece-based Energean and local company Israel Opportunity. The response to this round matches a similar response to Israel’s first round in 2017. That round also only received bids from two consortia.

Impacts

• The disappointing bidding round results will preserve the risk of political interference in Israel’s natural gas sector.
• Israel will remain dependent on a limited number of companies and gas fields for its gas supply.
• The round's results are unlikely to have any immediate impact on exploration activities in other sectors of the Eastern Mediterranean.