over ----, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approving a natural gas framework on December -- ---- that paves the way for further developments in the country s offshore gas reserves. As part of the framework, Noble Energy and Delek Group, which discovered Israel s biggest offshore gas field (Leviathan) in ----, will retain control of the field, but are being forced to sell their smaller assets in the country. ...As a result, we do not expect the Leviathan gas field to come on stream before ---- at the earliest, with the beginning of production being closely linked to securing export deals. We hold a more positive outlook on further developments in the Tamar field, given that the current gas production and expansion plans will supply natural gas to the Israeli domestic market and around -.-bn cubic metres to Union Fenosa Gas to export from Egypt s Damietta LNG terminal. We believe that the develop- ment of the Tamar gas field will lead to a significant uptick in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the coming quarters. ...We believe that the develop- ment of the Tamar gas field will lead to a significant uptick in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the coming quarters. This will come at a crucial time for the Israeli economy, given that gross fixed capital formation s annual growth has remained in the negative territory since ----.
...Similarly, we do not believe that the Israeli government will finalise a large gas deal with Jordan over the coming months, given that the overwhelming majority of Jordanian public opinion is opposed to such an agreement and considers that importing gas from Israel would reinforce Israeli occupation of Palestine. With Jordanians from Palestinian origin making up the majority of the Jordanian population, we do not believe that opposition to the deal will subside. Under the letter of in- tent that was signed in September ----, Jordan would receive more than -- of its energy needs from Israel by ---- under a ---year contract worth USD--bn. The outlook for a gas deal between Israel and Turkey is increas- ing, as Turkey is looking for new sources of energy following the Russian embargo, and with Israel and Turkey having reached a preliminary agreement on normalising relations on December --. Ties between the two countries had broken down after the Israeli navy raided a flotilla and killed -- Turkish activists try- ing to break Israel s blockade of Gaza in ----. Under the deal, Israel will compensate the families of those killed while Turkey will drop all claims against Israel.
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