General – Israel
According to Reuters, Israel has suspended production at the Tamar gas field off its southern coast.
The Government will seek alternative fuel sources to meet its needs, the energy ministry said on Monday following three days of violence in the region.
Chevron which operates the field, confirmed it had been instructed by the ministry to shut down the field, which is a major source of gas to Israel’s power generators and industry.
Some of Tamar’s gas is also exported to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt.
The move comes after Hamas gunmen burst across the fence from Gaza on Saturday in the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria’s attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.
“In the wake of the situation, Israel’s defence establishment ordered the temporary suspension of natural gas supplies from the Tamar field,” the energy ministry said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the energy ministry said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has authorised Energy Minister Yisrael Katz to order a state of emergency for Israel’s energy sector over the next two weeks, if deemed necessary.
Such a move would allow the government to allocate natural gas to consumers should supply shortages emerge, it said.
Tamar is located some 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) off the city of Ashdod along Israel’s southern Mediterranean coast.
