First, some facts:

*It is not Leviathan that is connected to the Israeli natural gas grid, but Mari-B which has one-fifteenth(!) the amount of reserves of the Leviathan field. It is Mari-B which has been online for 8 years now that is draining quicker than expected because of a lack of gas from Egypt. Leviathan is not connected to Israel’s natural gas grid and is not expected to for at least five to six years.

*Tamar too is not online, it should come online in a little over a year.

These two fields alone (Tamar and Leviathan) can supply all of Israel’s natural gas needs for well over 50 years. The problem at hand is simply that the unrest in Egypt has halted supplies and thus there exists a TEMPORARY shortage crisis in Israel until development of Tamar is completed next year.

Electricity production from coal: Currently coal supplies 65% (not 35%) of Israel’s total electricity generated annually. It is 35% of its generation CAPACITY, but that is NOT the same is the percent of actual electricity generated since coal produces what is called “base load” electricity, meaning other fuels are used on an as needed basis while coal stations are run 100% of the time to provide the minimum amount of electricity required by the grid at all times.