Israel for the first time became an exporter of oil, writes the Financial Times.

According to the newspaper, on Monday, the first batch of crude oil, intended for export, was loaded from the Israeli field Karish.

The Karish field has long been the subject of a territorial dispute between Israel and Lebanon, as it is located directly on the maritime border between the two countries. It was not until October 2022 that the Israeli government, backed by the United States, concluded a maritime boundary treaty with Lebanon, leaving Karish to Israel and the neighboring Qana field to Lebanon.

Nevertheless, Israel took extra security measures when shipping the first export shipment of oil. The tanker that took the oil from the field turned off its tracking systems on Monday so that its onward route could not be tracked. In addition, the tanker is escorted by a fire-fighting vessel. It is not known who is the buyer of the Israeli oil.

The Israeli field since the end of last year is developed by the Greek Energean, and oil production from the Lebanese field later this year should be engaged in the French TotalEnergies, reports Kommersant.