• News
    • Business
    • Canada
    • Health
    • International
    • Israel
  • Perspectives
    • Ask Ella
    • Ask The Love Rabbi
    • Features
    • Jewish Parenting Wisdom
    • Opinions
    • Ideas
    • Letters
    • Personal Essays
  • Food
  • Culture
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • The Arts
    • Books & Authors
    • Canada 150
    • Jewish Learning
    • June 1967
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Events
    • Contests
  • Supplements
    • Spotlights
  • Other Communities
    • En Français
    • Russian
  • Subscribe
  • Member Centre
  • Log Out
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Member Centre (eCJN)
  • Log Out
  • Newsletter
  • FaceBook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
CJN - Canada’s largest Jewish newspaper
April 19, 2018 - 4 Iyar 5778
CJN - Canada’s largest Jewish newspaper
  • News
    • Toronto public school responds to anti-Semitic incident

      ‘The world has lost a bright light’: Prominent rabbi’s son dies unexpectedly at 15

      Crowdfunding campaign raises $3 million for Toronto day schools

      Holocaust museum postpones exhibit over concerns about Polish law

      Canadians to go to Israel for 50th anniversary of Grade 10 year spent abroad

      AllBusinessCanadaHealthInternationalIsrael
  • Perspectives
    • Israel & the Internet: Circa 1948 – April 19, 2018

      Tales from the fascist book club

      The 70 faces Of Israel

      Documenting Israel’s birth

      Liba Augenfeld – the survivor who brought her love of Yiddish with her

      AllAsk EllaAsk The Love RabbiFeaturesJewish Parenting WisdomOpinionsIdeasLettersPersonal Essays
  • Food
    • The Shabbat Table: A special post-Passover garlic shlissel challah

      Everyone gets gooey at downtown matzah bake

      Making matzah balls unites a modern Jewish family, says Phyllis Feldman

      The easy way out of Passover

      Bannock and matzah: our breads of affliction

      Taste of Pesach 2: A successful sequel to a delightful debut

  • Culture
    • Novella splendidly blends math and literature

      Segal Centre features more Jewish content in 2018-19 season

      Popular Israeli podcast comes to the stage

      Mollie Jepsen – the Vancouver skier who won gold at the Paralympics

      Being Jewish in Havana

      AllArts & EntertainmentThe ArtsBooks & AuthorsCanada 150Jewish LearningJune 1967SportsTravel
  • Events
    • Chai Lifeline’s Restoring Hope contest (Closed)

      The CJN Prize (CLOSED)

      BRITISH YIDDISH AND KIDDUSH CONTEST (closed)

      The CJN Prize for Young Writers Contest (closed)

      JEWISH MUSIC WEEK 2016 (closed)

      AllContests
  • Supplements
    • Home Beautiful

      CJL Magazine

      Passover Greetings

      Passover Greetings

      MTL Celebrations

      AllSpotlights
  • Other Communities
    • Quel avenir pour les Juifs de France ?

      Israël dans la grande poudrière du Moyen-Orient

      Une entrevue avec Enrico Macias

      L’héritage de Shimon Peres: “Aucun rêve n’est impossible”

      L’intelligence artificielle au service de la robotique

      AllEn FrançaisRussian
  • Subscribe
  • Member Centre
  • Log Out
Home News Business Landau introduces Albertans to Israeli oil prospects
  • News
  • Business

Landau introduces Albertans to Israeli oil prospects

By
Paul Lungen, Staff Reporter
-
November 5, 2012
1117
0
SHARE
Facebook
Twitter
Uzi Landau, Israel’s minister of energy and water resources, left, with Alberta Premier Alison Redford, centre, and Miriam Ziv, Israel’s ambassador to Canada [Deborah Yedlin photo]

Israel is sitting on mammoth reserves of natural gas, oil and shale deposits, so where would a government minister charged with overseeing their exploitation go during a visit to Canada?

Alberta, of course – the centre of the Canadian petroleum industry.

Last week, Uzi Landau, Israel’s soft-spoken minister of energy and water resources, met with Alberta Premier Alison Redford, as well as business leaders, investors and members of the province’s oil and gas community during a one-day stop in the province.

The meetings were informational in nature, Landau explained during an informal press briefing in Toronto.

People in Alberta are generally not familiar with Israel’s economic situation, including its tax and royalty structure, its assets in “human capital,” its status as a high-tech innovator, its leading academic institutions, and its prudent banking institutions, which successfully rode out the worst of the 2008 global downturn, he said.

Of course, his Alberta audience was particularly interested in Israel’s involvement in the petroleum industry, and there was plenty to tell, he continued.

One Canadian-based exploration company, Adira Energy, which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, is set to begin drilling offshore in 2013, he said.

According to Adira’s website, the company has obtained petroleum licenses for three blocks in Israel’s offshore exclusive economic zone: the Gabriella licence covering 97,000 acres, the Yitzhak licence covering 31,555 acres and the Samuel licence covering 89,205 acres.

The Gabriella block is estimated to hold 110 million barrels of oil, while Yitzhak has 79 million barrels and Samuel 66 million barrels.

In addition to the oil, the area holds vast amounts of natural gas. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are 122 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Levant basin, and Israel can claim 40 per cent.

At present, Israel imports 99 per cent of the oil it consumes, mostly from Azerbaijan, but from other sources as well.

Landau, who represents the Yisrael Beiteinu party in the Knesset, agreed the natural resource finds are “a game changer” for Israel. They mean Israel will be less dependent on outside sources for its fuel, he said.

Development of cheap energy will boost the country’s economy. Israeli industries will become more competitive and energy-intensive products will become cheaper.

The environmental impact is positive, as natural gas is cleaner than other fuel sources, he continued.

Exploitation of the resource will “contribute to Israel’s geopolitical situation,” he said. It should boost trade with Jordan and the Palestinians, increasing contact and “leading to a routine of coexistence” and peace.

Cheap energy reduces the cost of desalinating water, producing electricity and purifying water, he added.

Landau suggested there may be other repercussions as well: it could draw Israel closer to Europe, as Israel and Cyprus are discussing the feasibility of an underwater cable to bring electricity to that Mediterranean island nation. For its part, Cyprus is considering another cable northward, meaning Israel will have one more link with Europe, Landau suggested.

In his meeting with Redford, Landau said he advocated continued development of ties between the two jurisdictions in areas of scientific and academic co-operation.

As for the involvement of Alberta’s private sector, he said Israel is open to partnerships and investment.

“Government can open the door,” he said. “We’re not going to replace business from doing business.”

SHARE
Facebook
Twitter
Paul Lungen, Staff Reporter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Toronto public school responds to anti-Semitic incident

‘The world has lost a bright light’: Prominent rabbi’s son dies unexpectedly at 15

Crowdfunding campaign raises $3 million for Toronto day schools

  • Popular
  • Recent
Subscribe to the CJNSubscribe
RSS FeedView
5,516FansLike
856FollowersFollow
10,095FollowersFollow
195SubscribersSubscribe
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe / Member Centre (eCJN)
  • eCJN Archives
  • Supplements
  • Media Kit
  • Advertising Terms
  • Premiums

One on One at Comicon with Leo Leibelman

Purim 2018 on Toronto's streets

Baba Fira's CJN Prize Awards invite

  • News
  • Canada
  • Israel
  • International
  • Opinions
  • The Arts
The award-winning Canadian Jewish News (CJN) is Canada’s largest, weekly Jewish newspaper with an audited circulation of nearly 32,000 and read by more than 100,000 people each week.
© Copyright 2018 Canadian Jewish News
  • Comments Policy
  • Community Links
  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Admin

Week in Review...

Comes Right to You

Sign up for our Weekly Newsletter

X