Israel exports oil to Europe for the first time

(Patria) - Israel has exported oil for the first time, sending a shipment to Europe from the offshore Karish field of Energean Plc, Bloomberg reported. Although the country began sending natural gas abroad several years ago, it has never produced significant quantities of oil. The Karish field in the Eastern Mediterranean is Energean's flagship project, and gas has been extracted since last year.

"The first lifting of Israeli crude oil cargo took place at the company's Karish field," said London-based Energean in a statement. "The cargo was sold under a multi-cargo marketing agreement with Vitol," it added.

Extraction from the territory, located near the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, became possible after an agreement between the two countries mediated by the US in October. Production from Karish has further boosted Israel's gas industry, which once relied on imports.

Israel will remain a net importer of crude oil despite the start of exports. Energean said it remained focused on gas, although the "light sweet crude oil, responsibly produced" is "highly sought after globally."