Tamar gas field

Overview

Tamar gas field is a major offshore natural gas field in Israel’s Mediterranean waters. Discovered in 2009, it began production in 2013 and became central to Israel’s domestic gas supply. Its development reduced dependence on imported gas after Egypt suspended supplies in 2011. Tamar also helped establish Israel as a regional gas exporter. Its production network links a reservoir west of Haifa to a processing platform south of Ashkelon, then to shore near Ashdod.

Tamar’s discovery changed the scale of Israel’s offshore energy industry. Early estimates placed its gas volume at least three times that of the earlier Yam Thetis discovery off Ashkelon and Ashdod, with an initial assessment valuing its gas at about $15 billion. Deep-sea drilling technology made it possible to reach Tamar and other reserves off Israel’s coast. Development required offshore production equipment, processing facilities and pipelines connecting gas to customers on land. Tamar’s contribution therefore extended beyond one reservoir: it helped build infrastructure and commercial demand for later Israeli fields.

The field’s strategic importance became clear again in 2023. Following Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, Israel ordered production at Tamar halted because of security risks. Production resumed after a November 9 instruction from Israel’s Ministry of Energy. During the shutdown, Leviathan met most domestic gas demand, while other infrastructure reduced the interruption’s impact. Exports to Egypt bore the chief effect. Tamar thus illustrates both the value of domestic energy production and the need to protect offshore facilities and maintain alternative supply routes.

Geography

Tamar’s gas reservoir and its processing platform occupy different parts of Israel’s offshore production network. The Tamar 1 drilling site lies about 90 kilometers west of Haifa’s shoreline. Descriptions of the producing field place it roughly seventy miles offshore from Haifa, far north of the platform through which its gas reaches land. Leviathan, discovered the following year, lies west of Tamar. This separation between reservoir and platform matters when identifying the field’s location: Tamar’s northern offshore deposit should not be confused with its installation nearer Ashkelon and Gaza.

The Tamar platform stands in water more than five hundred feet deep, about thirteen miles off Israel’s coast south of Ashkelon and about the same distance from Gaza. Gas brought from the field undergoes initial processing there. A pipeline then carries it to shore just north of Ashdod’s port, where further processing takes place before the gas enters Israel’s trunk pipeline system. The platform is consequently a critical point between a distant seabed reserve and homes, power stations and industrial users connected to the national network.

Israel’s Mediterranean gas system also connects Tamar with regional markets. Gas bound for Egypt can travel through Jordan to Aqaba, then cross a short seabed pipeline into Egypt. A shorter seabed route between Israel and Egypt runs parallel to Gaza’s coast. These routes link offshore production to demand beyond Israel while leaving exports dependent on functioning pipelines, processing facilities and secure maritime approaches. Their different paths also give suppliers alternatives when one route faces disruption.

Modern history

A large natural gas reserve was discovered at the Tamar 1 drilling site in January 2009. On January 18, Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer informed Israel’s government of the discovery. Tamar followed earlier Mediterranean finds, including Yam Thetis off Ashkelon and Ashdod, but its estimated size marked a substantial increase in Israel’s known gas resources. The discovery gave Israel a stronger basis for meeting future demand from domestic production. Leviathan was discovered one year later, further expanding prospects for Israeli gas development.

Tamar’s timing mattered because imported gas had been an important part of Israel’s supply. Before the Egypt–Israel gas pipeline closed, it provided up to 40 percent of Israel’s demand. Egypt suspended natural gas supplies to Israel in 2011. Tamar entered production in 2013, replacing part of that lost external supply with Israeli gas. Its output became important to electricity generation and helped reduce exposure to interruptions in imports. Tamar began producing six years before Leviathan, making it the principal large new Israeli offshore field serving domestic customers during that interval.

As Israeli production grew, Tamar took a place in policy decisions about domestic supply, exports and development of neighboring fields. Government Decision No. 442 of June 23, 2013, set quantities governing natural gas exports. Israel’s later proposed gas framework addressed production from Tamar alongside development of Leviathan and other fields. Those decisions reflected a central policy question: how to serve Israel’s own market while allowing regional sales that could support costly offshore development. Contracts for Tamar gas helped finance Leviathan and the smaller Tanin and Karish fields.

Tamar’s concession holders pursued sales to Jordan and Egyptian companies before Leviathan entered production. Tamar began exporting gas to Jordan in 2017. When Leviathan started producing in 2019, Tamar was supplying much of Israel’s domestic electricity demand, leaving Leviathan positioned for substantial regional exports. The fields also provided an alternative to one another within Israel’s gas system. Karish added another producing area, though it is smaller than Tamar and Leviathan. Together, their development made domestic supply less dependent on any single offshore installation.

American company Noble Energy held an interest in Tamar during its development. On July 20, 2020, Chevron announced its acquisition of Noble, bringing a major American energy company into Israel’s offshore gas industry. Chevron became Tamar’s operator and a significant license holder. Its involvement represented major foreign investment in Israeli gas and tied Tamar’s operations to a company active across international energy markets. The acquisition took place after Tamar had already established a domestic customer base and as Israel’s offshore industry was expanding its regional sales.

Investment also followed Israel’s normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates under the Abraham Accords. Emirati state firm Mubadala completed its purchase of a $1 billion stake in Tamar in December 2021. It was the largest commercial deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates since normalization. The transaction placed an Emirati investor in a field serving Israel’s domestic market and participating in a growing regional gas trade. Tamar thereby became part of wider economic cooperation between the two countries.

Security

Tamar’s processing platform is close enough to Gaza to face rocket fire and seaborne assault. Its exposed position makes protection of the installation a continuing operational requirement. Armed security personnel and high-speed patrol boats guard the platform. Larger Israeli naval craft equipped with Iron Dome can deploy from Ashdod to reinforce its defenses against rockets. Protection of the platform is particularly important because it handles initial processing for gas arriving from the reservoir farther north.

Israel ordered Tamar’s operator to halt production on October 7, 2023, after Hamas’s attack against Israel. The shutdown showed how an attack could interrupt an offshore facility without eliminating the underlying gas reserve. It also demonstrated the value of Israel’s other production sites and pipeline connections. Leviathan supplied most domestic gas demand during the interruption, and other gas infrastructure reduced its effect on Israeli consumers. Tamar’s absence chiefly affected exports to Egypt, which relies in part on Israeli gas to meet its own demand.

On November 9, Israel’s Ministry of Energy instructed Chevron to resume Tamar production. Gas volumes sent to Egypt subsequently recovered, although they remained below their level before October 7. Restarting Tamar restored a supply source for regional customers and revenue for its license holders, particularly Chevron, as well as tax revenue for Israel. The episode underscored how field operations, maritime defenses and export routes are connected: a secure platform supports both Israel’s energy supply and its ability to honor regional gas commitments.

Present day

Tamar remains a major component of Israel’s offshore gas system alongside Leviathan and Karish. Its production serves domestic demand and supports sales to neighboring countries. Leviathan’s capacity gives Israel an alternative when Tamar is unavailable, while Tamar adds supply when regional demand rises. This combination strengthens Israel’s energy independence and gives its gas industry greater flexibility than reliance on one field would permit.

Tamar has also continued to attract foreign participation. In February 2025, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR bought a 10 percent stake in the field. The acquisition followed Chevron’s entry through Noble Energy and Mubadala’s earlier investment, adding another international investor to Tamar’s ownership. By then, the field had been producing for more than a decade. Its history—from the 2009 discovery and 2013 start of production to the 2023 shutdown and recovery—shows its lasting role in Israel’s electricity supply, maritime security and regional energy trade.