How much is Israel's gas worth?
According to a conservative estimate by the Accountant General, Israel's natural gas reserves are worth NIS 20 billion - not including Leviathan, which could generate an additional NIS 60 billion for the state coffers
For the first time, the Finance Ministry has worked out how much Israel's natural gas reserves are worth to the public. According to an estimate published as part of the State Assets Report by the Accountant General's office, Israel's gas resources are worth NIS 20.3 billion ($5.34 billion).
The report noted that the estimate was liable to change, due mostly to two factors: the exact amount of the country's gas remains unknown and global gas prices could change in the next few years.
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However, the account general assessed that the sales of natural gas will generate NIS 18 billion $4.7 billion) for the government, as well as an additional NIS 2.3 billion (about $600 million) in taxes from the gas producers. The data was compiled based on the most conservative estimates available, and does not take into account small gas reserves whose economic viability is still unknown.
Nor do the numbers account for the Leviathan site, which contains – according to current estimates – almost twice the amount of gas found in Tamar, the largest reserve identified to date. Leviathan was left out of the assessment because the Energy and Water Ministry has yet to officially declare it a gas discovery. When it receives the ministry's stamp of approval, Leviathan is expected to yield some NIS 60 million ($15.8 million) in public revenue.
The accountant general also crunched the numbers for other mineral industries. Royalties from the sale of potash, produced by the Dead Sea Works, total NIS 4.5 billion ($1.18 million), while the production of gravel and sand generates another NIS 1.75 billion ($460 million). Future royalties from phosphate production are expected to generate NIS 270 million ($71 million).
In total, the account general reports, Israel's mineral and natural gas resources bring in some NIS 26.8 billion ($7 billion).
