How Much Natural Gas Does Israel Export? About 9.2 BCM in 2022
Israel exported about 9.2 BCM of natural gas in 2022, on the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s July 2023 paper, out of 21.9 BCM supplied.
About 9.2 BCM of natural gas went to export in 2022, on the figures published by the Knesset Research and Information Centre on 4 July 2023. The same paper puts total natural gas supply that year at 21.9 BCM, of which about 12.7 BCM went to consumption inside Israel. These are the figures of the Knesset’s own research service, written for the committee supervising the Fund for the Citizens of Israel, and BCM here means billion cubic metres.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About 9.2 BCM | Natural gas exported, volume only, with no country split | 2022 |
| 21.9 BCM | Total natural gas supply | 2022 |
| About 12.7 BCM | Gas consumed inside Israel | 2022 |
| About 10.1 BCM | Gas for electricity generation | 2022 |
| About 2.3 BCM | Gas for industry | 2022 |
| About 0.35 BCM | Gas for other consumers | 2022 |
| 1,087 BCM | Estimated natural gas reserves | Start of 2023 |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, Analysis of Natural Gas Production Potential, Domestic Demand Forecast and Export Options to 2045, 4 July 2023.
Israel exported about 9.2 BCM of natural gas in 2022
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports the 2022 export volume as about 9.2 BCM, in a paper written by its own economist and approved by the head of its budgetary supervision department. The figure is the research service’s own presentation of Israeli supply data for one calendar year, and the paper carries its own rounding on it.
What that figure is, and what it is not:
- A volume of gas exported across calendar year 2022, stated as an approximation.
- Not a destination figure. The paper carries no split between buyers and no per-country volume.
- Not a capacity figure. It records gas that moved, not gas that could move.
- Not the 12.7 BCM printed beside it, which is the figure for consumption inside Israel.
Exports were 42% of the 21.9 BCM supplied in 2022
Against the total supply of 21.9 BCM that the Knesset Research and Information Centre records for 2022, the export volume of about 9.2 BCM is about 42%. The denominator is total supply for that year as the Knesset’s own research service states it, not production capacity, not licensed capacity and not reserves.
The 12.7 BCM used in Israel splits into 3 stated uses
The Knesset Research and Information Centre breaks the roughly 12.7 BCM consumed inside Israel in 2022 into about 10.1 BCM for electricity generation, about 2.3 BCM for industry and about 0.35 BCM for other consumers. The three components are the research service’s own figures and each carries its own approximation.
Reserves were estimated at 1,087 BCM at the start of 2023
The Knesset Research and Information Centre estimates Israel’s natural gas reserves at 1,087 BCM at the start of 2023, against an estimate of about 780 BCM in 2012. Between those two dates the same paper records about 119 BCM produced and about 425 BCM added by discoveries and revisions. Every one of these is an estimate made by the Knesset’s own research service, not a measured quantity, so each travels with its date.
| Item | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves estimate | About 780 BCM | 2012 |
| Production | About 119 BCM | The decade to 2023 |
| Discoveries and revisions | About 425 BCM | The decade to 2023 |
| Reserves estimate | 1,087 BCM | Start of 2023 |
On field holdings, the Knesset Research and Information Centre records Karish-Tanin and Katlan as 100% held by Energean, and a holding of 39.66% in Leviathan for the holder it names there.
No destination or contract figures appear in this Knesset paper
The Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes, in this paper, total supply, domestic consumption, an export volume, reserve estimates and field holdings. On the questions a reader most often arrives with, the paper is silent, and the absence is recorded here rather than filled.
- No country-by-country export split, and no volume attributed to any buyer.
- No contract value, and no contracted quantity.
- No pipeline or terminal capacity figure tied to the 2022 export volume.
The rest of the document is a demand forecast and a set of export scenarios running to 2045. Those are model outputs of the Knesset’s own research service, not a record of what was exported, and nothing here is drawn from them.
Which figures here may not be added together?
Every figure on this page comes from one document, the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s paper of 4 July 2023, which is the research service of the Knesset itself.
The 2022 supply figures reconcile as printed: 12.7 BCM plus 9.2 BCM is the stated total of 21.9 BCM, and the three domestic uses sum to 12.75 BCM against a printed 12.7 BCM at the Centre’s stated rounding.
The reserves figures do not reconcile the same way: 780 less 119 plus 425 gives 1,086 against a printed 1,087 BCM. Cite the endpoints or the components, and do not restate either as corrected.
Reserves are estimates and are labelled as such by the Centre. The export figure is a volume for one year and supports no statement about where the gas went.
Questions readers ask
How much natural gas did Israel export in 2022?
About 9.2 BCM, on the figure published by the Knesset Research and Information Centre on 4 July 2023.
How much gas did Israel supply in total that year?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records total natural gas supply of 21.9 BCM in 2022.
What share of supply was exported?
About 42%, being about 9.2 BCM of the 21.9 BCM the Knesset Research and Information Centre records as total supply for 2022.
How much gas did Israel use itself?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre puts domestic consumption at about 12.7 BCM in 2022.
What is the gas used for inside Israel?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports about 10.1 BCM for electricity generation, about 2.3 BCM for industry and about 0.35 BCM for other consumers in 2022.
Does this paper say how much gas goes to Egypt or Jordan?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes an export volume in this paper and no country breakdown.
Does it give a value for export contracts?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre carries no contract value and no contracted quantity in this document.
What does BCM mean?
Billion cubic metres. Every gas quantity the Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes in this paper is stated in that unit.
How large are Israel’s gas reserves?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre estimated reserves at 1,087 BCM at the start of 2023, an estimate rather than a measurement.
How much gas was produced in the decade to 2023?
About 119 BCM, on the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s figure for the period from its 2012 reserves estimate to the start of 2023.
Which fields does the paper name?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records Leviathan, with a 39.66% holding for the holder it names, and Karish-Tanin and Katlan as 100% held by Energean.
Who wrote the paper, and for whom?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published it on 4 July 2023, written by economist Netanel Kupraak and approved by Ami Tzadik, head of its budgetary supervision department, at the request of the committee supervising the Fund for the Citizens of Israel.
Does the paper forecast future exports?
It carries demand forecasts and export scenarios to 2045. Those are projections by the Knesset Research and Information Centre and are not figures for gas exported.
Sources
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2023. Analysis of Natural Gas Production Potential, Domestic Demand Forecast and Export Options to 2045. Written by Netanel Kupraak, approved by Ami Tzadik, 4 July 2023, 6 pages. fs.knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record.
