Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — The Israel Navy, strapped for funds, has been examining
requirements to secure the nation’s new natural gas reserves.

The Navy has been discussing energy security requirements, estimated at
up to $1 billion, meant to prevent an attack on its Leviathan and Tamar gas
fields. On March 30, the first gas flowed from Tamar, located 90 kilometers
from the northern Israeli coast.

“There are two questions here: How much will this cost and who will pay for it,” a senior naval officer, who did not want to be identified, said.

The Navy has determined that Leviathan and Tamar were vulnerable to enemy missiles, rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles and frogmen. They said several options have been discussed, including the deployment of the new Iron Dome missile and rocket defense system, now used to protect southern Israel.

Officials said the Defense Ministry has determined that the gas fields were strategic assets that must be protected from such Iranian proxies as Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad. They said Israel’s neighbors, particularly Lebanon, which claims at least one field, could facilitate attacks on Leviathan and Tamar.

“We have to build an entire new defensive envelope,” Capt. Ilan Lavi,
head of the Navy’s planning department, said. “But you can’t have a defense
system that costs more to build than the gas itself.”

But Lavi told the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post that the Navy lacked the
resources to protect an area larger than the Jewish state. He said
protection of the two fields would cost $700 million and $100 million in
annual maintenance.

So far, the Navy has assessed that protection of the gas fields would
require at least four fast patrol boats, UAVs and an advanced radar that
could detect infiltration in the rocky Mediterranean. Officials said the
Defense Ministry has approved the search of vessels from
U.S. companies as well as from Israel Aerospace Industries and Israel
Shipyards, makers of the Super Dvora Mk-3 and Shaldag.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved efforts
to secure Leviathan and Tamar, where 18 wells were slated for drilling over
the next few years. But the government, which pledged major spending cuts,
has not approved any allocation for the energy security project.

“A big question mark is how much the energy companies developing these
fields are willing to invest in security,” the naval officer said. “So far,
they are being very cautious.”

  Benjamin Netanyahu, Capt. Ilan Lavi, Israel weighs using Iron Dome to protect new Mediterranean energy assets, Leviathan and Tamar gas fields