KEYFACT Energy
Contacts
Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources
P.O Box 33541 Haifa 31334
Israel
Tel: 972-4-8644024
Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources
Description
The Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources is responsible for the supply and management of energy and the natural resources of the State of Israel: electricity, fuels, natural gas, energy conservation, water, sewerage, oil & gas exploration, minerals and ores excavation. The Ministry regulates these fields and acts to ensure an adequate supply during peacetime and in emergency, under changing energy and infrastructure needs, today and in the future, while balancing between suppliers and consumers under economic, environmental and social constraints.
In order to meet its objectives and allow the country to realize its goals in the energy and infrastructure fields, the Ministry encourages R&D for the development of renewable energy sources, oil alternatives, smart grids and water treatment, using novel, efficient technologies.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Prospecting
Approximately 60% of Israel’s energy consumption is supplied by raw and processed petroleum. Around 300,000 barrels of petroleum are consumed each day, of which only a negligible amount is produced in Israel. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources encourages petroleum and natural gas exploration, in an effort to strenghen Israel’s economic and political independence.
Until recent years, such efforts did not encounter great success – as opposed to some of the nations in the region that are considered to be amongst the greatest petroleum producers in the world. However, in the last decade several dramatic developments have taken place, which had transformed the nature of the Israeli energy economy and the nature of the economy in general.