Page 17 - NorthAmOil Week 40

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US brokering continues as Israel,

UAE agree energy co-operation

GLOBAL FOLLOWING the signing of a peace agreement acquired by fellow US company Chevron in a
in September, the US, Israel and the UAE have multi-billion-dollar deal. (See: Deals close as US
agreed an energy-focused co-operation deal. industry consolidation gains momentum, page 9)
A joint statement was published by the US However, this comes amid a growing tide of
Department of Energy (DoE) on October 1, public opinion against fossil fuel development
which said that the countries “agree to encour- and use, which has focused on pushing for the
age greater co-ordination in the energy sector, decommissioning of the Haifa refinery, which is US firm Noble
including renewable energy, energy efficiency, now expected to occur within the next decade.
oil, natural gas resources and related technolo- Speaking to NewsBase, Amit Mor, CEO of Eco Energy has played
gies, and water desalination technologies”. Energy. said that by 2030 around two thirds of
The DoE added: “Israel, the United Arab new cars in Israel will be electric vehicles (EVs) a pivotal role
Emirates and the United States are committed to as the country continues its shift away from coal.
exploring collective activities in multilateral set- Mor said that domestic gas production had in developing
tings in co-ordination with financial institutions changed Israel’s energy consumption makeup Israel’s gas
and the private sector to enhance international from roughly 80% coal and 20% oil to around
investment in research and development and the 70% gas, with renewables providing a growing fields.
rapid adoption of new energy technologies.” percentage. The government has a target of pro-
The UAE has an ambitious target of increas- ducing 16 GW by 2030, catering to around 30%
ing oil production capacity from the current by 2030.
level of 4mn barrels per day to 5mn bpd by 2030, For its part, the UAE is increasingly turning
while total liquids production is 2.43mn bpd. its attention to alternative energy, with energy
The Emirates are also investing heavily to boost minister Suhail al-Mazrouei saying on Septem-
gas output. ber 14 that the country intends to generate 44%
Meanwhile, Israel saw its Leviathan gas field of its power from renewable energy by 2050.
come on stream at the turn of the year and var- Following the start-up of the first reactor at the
ious international and local firms are building country’s new nuclear facility this year, around
out the country’s gas sector. US firm Noble 25% of its power demand will be met by nuclear
Energy has played a pivotal role in developing once the remaining three reactors expand capac-
the country’s gas fields, and the firm has just been ity to 5.6 GW.™

Week 40 08•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17