SOCAR, an Azerbaijani state owned energy company continues to acquire stakes in strategic assets in foreign countries in line with its strategy to expand production footprint. It has bought a 10% stake in Israel’s natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea called Tamar.
Lebanon too could be energy independent if it were to stop the Hezbollah and develop peaceful energy pursuits. Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone is a part of the Levant Basin: according to the USGS estimates, Lebanon could hold 850 bcm of offshore natural gas reserves and 660 million barrels of oil.
The US oil and energy giant Chevron already operates and holds a 25% stake in the Tamar gas field in the Med Sea. Other partners in the Israeli gas reservoir include Isramco, Tamar Investment 2, Tamar Petroleum, and Dor Gas.
Since Israel first found natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast more than a decade ago, and since the country has emerged as a gas exporter. The natural gas operations have put the country on a path to energy independence in a region with few natural resources.
Israel has been exporting gas from the Tamar field to its neighbor Jordan since 2017.
This is not the first attempt by SOCAR to enter the Israeli natural gas market but this is SOCAR’s first major investment in the Mediterranean Sea. The oil firm’s vision moving forward it so continue seeking strategic assets around the world to expand its energy portfolio.
In 2023, SOCAR joined a consortium including British multinational oil and gas firm BP and NewMed Energy to bid for licenses to explore and discover offshore natural gas fields in areas adjacent to Israel’s Leviathan field, one of the world’s largest deep-water gas discoveries.
Within the new framework, on January 31, 2025, an agreement was signed with Union Energy for the acquisition of 10% effective ownership in the Tamar field, located offshore of Israel, one of the largest and most strategically important gas fields in the Mediterranean basin.
“With this step, SOCAR has begun implementing investment in upstream projects in the Mediterranean region. The agreement was signed subject to certain conditions being met, including customary regulatory and other approvals,” announced the Azerbaijani government.
SOCAR will continue its efforts to acquire stakes in strategic assets in foreign countries in the future. It is a major source of income for the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan.
