A breakdown on the Leviathan gas production platform in the early hours of this morning led to a halt in the flow of gas to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The interruption to supply lasted between 03:25 and 07:45. According to the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources, during the night the power supply failed on the platform, and a breakdown that made it necessary to burn off all the gas to prevent a severe air pollution incident. The Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources said that the event would be investigated and questions would be asked of Noble Energy, and that the public would be informed of the results.
Resident of the Carmel coast area claim that they were woken this morning by "a massive explosion that shook their houses", but the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources states that there was no explosion on the gas platform. The residents say that this is the eighth time that the flare on the platform has been operated, indicating repeated breakdowns that require an investigation and a detailed report by Noble Energy to the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said this morning that no excessive concentrations of pollutants had been recorded by the monitoring stations around the gas platform. "The matter is under investigation and the ministry will notify the public of the results, and will provide updates if there are any data indicating deviations at the monitoring stations," the ministry said.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 11, 2020
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