TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) A new natural gas field named Katlan, whose reserves are estimated at 68 billion cubic meters (1.188 trillion cubic feet), has been discovered in Israel's exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for the first time in eight years, the Israeli Energy Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The Katlan reserves ... will join the existing natural gas reserves of our country, which have already changed the appearance of the local energy system and turned Israel into a global energy power," Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Israel Katz said in a statement published by the ministry.
There is also potential for new discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Israeli Energy Ministry will keep developing natural gas reserves for the sake of the country's energy security, Katz added.
The energy minister authorized Mathios Rigas, chief executive officer of Greek-British energy company Energean, to develop the Katlan reserves, the statement read.
Rigas, on his part, welcomed this official recognition of the discovery, which was made during a recent exploration campaign conducted by Eergean, and said that the company would launch the development of the field promptly.
"We will begin the development of Katlan as soon as possible, as efficiently as possible, in a way that will create great value for all our partners, and will open new opportunities for Israeli gas in the local and regional markets, as well as for the benefit of the entire Israeli economy," Rigas said.
Katlan is the first gas field discovered by Israel since 2015 and the fourth-largest field discovered in the Israeli exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the last 10 years. The largest gas field is named Leviathan, and its reserves are estimated at 600 billion cubic meters. The second-largest is Tamar with 300 billion cubic meters, and the third-largest are Karish and Tanin with total reserves of 100 billion cubic meters.
