CERAWeek 2017 To Provide Opportunities for TX Companies to Invest in Israeli Oil Project Israel’s Minister of Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources (MIEWR), Dr. Yuval Steinitz, visited Houston, joining oil and gas industry leaders during CERAWeek2017 held on March 6-10. The conference is hosted by IHS Markets and is described on its official site as, “the premier annual international gathering of energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, leaders from the technology, financial, and industrial communities – and energy technology innovators.”[1] Accordingly, this annual energy conference brings together national leaders from around the world to create opportunities for private business-to-government meetings. Minister Steinitz’s visit comes on the heels of the Natural Gas Regulatory Framework approved by the Israeli government in May 2016. Israel already made history in 2009 with the discovery of the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields which are adjacent to the Levant Basin, however, data from a recent third-party basin modeling study concluded that up to 6.6 billion barrels of oil and 2,137 cubic meters of gas are yet to be found in the offshore part of the Levant Basin. Thus, the Israeli minister’s visit presented Texas and international companies an opportunity to learn about Israel’s offshore bid round timing and guidelines, its legal and fiscal terms as well as a technical overview of the hydrocarbon potential of the nominated offshore blocks to be bid. Great interest in the offshore bid round within Israel and abroad persuaded the Minister of Energy to extend the closing date for bids to July 10th, 2017. Overall, since energy is one of many areas wherein both Texas and Israel overlap, Dr. Steinitz’s visit presents a great opportunity for Texas companies to economically ally with the Jewish State in this area in the future. [1] https://ceraweek.com/about-ceraweek/
Sources: https://ceraweek.com/about-ceraweek/ http://www.energy-sea.gov.il/English-Site/Lobby/Articles/Pages/The-Ministry-of-Energy-Postpones-the-Deadline-for-Submitting-Proposals-in-the-Offshore-Bid-Round.aspx