Israel reached an energy milestone when natural gas began flowing March 30 from the Noble Energy-operated Tamar field, located about 90 km (56 miles) offshore Haifa in the Mediterranean Sea.

The feat brings hope toward reaching a goal of energy independence for the country, which is heavily dependent on imports to meet energy demands. The accomplishment also comes as the country works to transition to and promote the use of natural gas, shifting from coal.

The field is believed to hold enough natural gas to meet the country’s energy needs for 10 years, according to Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. The ministry said the field can supply between 50% and 80% of the country’s natural gas consumption needs over the next 10 years.

“We are taking an important step toward energy independence,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after gas started flowing to a terminal in the Israeli port of Ashdod. “We have advanced the natural gas sector in Israel over the last decade, which will be good for the Israeli economy and for all Israelis.”

The Tamar project represents a US $3.25 billion gross investment for Noble Energy. The company, which said Tamar has the world’s longest subsea tieback at 150 km (93 miles) with a 1,678-m (5,505-ft) water depth, made the discovery in 2009 when it encountered more than 183 m (600 ft) of net pay in three reservoirs. Gross mean resources of the field are 9 Tcf of natural gas.

“It’ll deliver about 700 MMcf/d on average to Israel, replacing higher cost liquid fuels there,” David Stover, Noble’s president and COO, said during a December 2012 media briefing in Houston. “With Tamar coming online, we’ll double our production volume in Israel.”

Noble, which has a 36% holding in the Tamar lease, plans to expand operations at the field by 2015. Hopes are to increase capacity to 1.5 Bcf/d.

“We are the only significant energy producer in terms of hydrocarbon energies in the state of Israel. Natural gas is opening up that country in terms of their ability to utilize their own domestic supply of energy versus imported,” CEO Charles Davidson said during the briefing. “The fact that we are now using natural gas to generate electricity in the country is saving them a huge amount of costs. It’s also reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”

Figures presented by Noble revealed Tamar is expected to have a condensate gross revenue of $50 million per year. The company also said the development could result in $130 billion in energy savings and revenue for Israel. Additionally, the field could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 195 million metric tons during its lifetime. That is the equivalent of emissions from all cars in Israel for 14 years.

Tamar is only one of several projects under way for Noble Energy in Israel. Another is the Leviathan development, deemed the company’s largest discovery to date.

Initial production for Leviathan could come in 2016 for the domestic market. In March results from the Leviathan #4 appraisal well prompted the company to increase the estimated recoverable gross mean resources of the field to 18 Tcf with a range of 15 Tcf to 21 Tcf. The well, located in the Rachel license, encountered 138 net m (454 net ft) of gas pay in multiple intervals – the thickest net pay of any well drilled to date at Leviathan, according to Noble.

Israel’s proved reserves of natural gas stand at about 9.5 Tcf, according to information from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Although the amount is not high enough to boost country into the world’s top 40 gas-producing nations, the number positions Israel to develop its hydrocarbon potential and reduce its reliance on imports.

“While historically Israel has been an importer of natural gas – most recently through the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline from Egypt – the discoveries of the Tamar and Leviathan fields (among several others) should allow the country to become a significant exporter of natural gas in the next decade,” the EIA said. “In 2011 Israel consumed 13.9 million short tons of coal, mostly for use in electricity generation. That figure is likely to go down as Israel’s natural gas sector continues its rapid growth and coal-fired generating capacity is replaced by natural gas-fired generating capacity.”

Other partners in Tamar include Isramco Negev 2 Ltd., 28.75%; Avner Oil Exploration, 15.625%; Delek Drilling, 15.625%; and Dor Gas Exploration, 4%.

Contact the author, Velda Addison, at vaddison@hartenergy.com.