Natural gas in the Gaza Strip

Reserves of natural gas were found offshore the Gaza Strip in the year 2000, within the framework of licensing to British Gas by the Palestinian National Authority. The discovered gas field, Gaza Marine, though mediocre in size, had been considered at the time as one of the possible drives to boost Palestinian economy and promote regional cooperation.

With Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in the year 2007, the chances for developing the gas field reduced, due to a stand-off with the Ramallah administration and Israel's refusal to deal with Hamas. The chances further diminished with the discovery of major gas fields in the Israeli economic waters in 2009 and 2010, making Israel an unlikely customer for the Palestinian gas. In 2023 Israel has given preliminary approval for the development of the Gaza Marine gas field, with the involvement of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, but, as of 2024, Gaza's natural gas was still underwater.

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