The Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources has granted final approval for operating the Leviathan field platform and starting the flow of natural gas. All of the petitions filed against the final running-in stage for the reservoir were dismissed. The ministry said that the gas wells would be opened at 2.00 on Monday morning and that gas would reach the Israel Natural Gas Lines Company's transportation system at 15.00 in the afternoon, marking the beginning of official and continuous operation of the reservoir.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, however, has not yet issued all the approvals necessary to operate the platform, and has not yet given final confirmation that all of the conditions for streaming gas have been fulfilled. In order to meet the conditions for the emission permit issued to Noble Energy by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Noble Energy must still meet certain criteria.
As soon as the wells are opened at 2:00 on Monday, gas will begin flowing in the maritime gas pipeline. Five hours after that, nitrogen will be emitted into the atmosphere, and gradually a limited and supervised quantity of nitrogen mixed with natural gas for a limited number of hours (streaming). In two short periods of eight hours, 49 tons of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), the amount allowed over 18 months in ordinary times, will be emitted.
The Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources and the Ministry of Environmental Protection emphasize that during the platform's running-in period, including streaming, emissions will be continuously monitored, and on the day on which natural gas begins flowing, the ministries will have professional teams on the platform and on the shore, including in the monitoring stations. During the platform's routine operation, the quality of the air in the stations placed on the shore will be monitored regularly.
The Leviathan field, discovered in 2009, contains 500 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas. It is located 110 kilometers from the shore at a depth of 1,650 meters in Israel's economic waters. A large proportion of the gas produced, however, will be allocated to exports - to Jordan in the initial stage. This has aroused objections among residents of the region, who complain that they are liable to be exposed to an environmental hazard and severe air pollution because of a commercial company's profits.
The use of natural gas in Israel is designed to free power stations from dependence on coal and fuel oil, because air pollution from power production using gas is less than the pollution generated by other fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector in Israel constitute 55% of all emissions (transportation - 20%), and most greenhouse gas emissions in Israel consist of carbon dioxide (83%) and methane (10%), with the rest consisting of nitrogen peroxide and fluorine compounds.
When natural gas emissions are examined, pollutant emissions in the production process should also be taken into account. An analysis published by "The New York Times" stated that large leaks of methane, an extremely powerful greenhouse gas, from oil and gas facilities had been discovered. The analysis stated that when gas was burned to produce electricity, it generated half as much carbon dioxide as burning coal. If the methane is not burned when it is released, however, the report said that it could affect global warming 80 times as much as carbon dioxide for 20 years. The control processes are therefore of critical importance is the use of fossil fuels.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 19, 2019
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