State Earned NIS 878 Million from Gas Royalties in 2018

YERUSHALAYIM
An aeriel view of the Israeli Tamar gas processing rig 18 miles off the coast of Ashkelon. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

The state’s earnings from royalties on natural gas rose 9.3 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year. The state earned NIS 878 million in 2018, mostly on the royalties from the Tamar gas field, compared to NIS 803 million in 2017. Tamar was responsible for NIS 858 million of the total, and in 2019 the Energy Ministry expects to collect over NIS 1 billion in royalties, as the Leviathan gas field comes on-line.

Most of the royalties are being paid by a group of companies headed by Nobel Energy, which has led exploration and production in the Tamar and Leviathan fields. The company pays a royalty for every cubit meter of natural gas produced.

Commenting on the results, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that “the development of the Leviathan gas field, which will be completed by the end of this year, will net the state billions of shekels, which will be used for healthcare, education, and the welfare of citizens, and promise us and future generations cleaner air. We expect these payments to increase even more as more exploration for sources of gas and oil are conducted,” Steinitz said in a statement.

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