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Israel's Minister of Energy, Eli Cohen, will soon announce the fifth round of natural gas exploration auctions, which will include six new maritime blocks covering about 8,600 km². The government believes these areas could hold hundreds of billions of cubic meters of gas, crucial for meeting domestic demand and supporting $35 billion export deals with Egypt.

Despite expert skepticism regarding the discovery of large gas fields and existing geopolitical tensions, the Ministry seeks to draw multinational energy firms through promotional events in the United States. The strategy emphasizes attracting international players to enhance competition, amid criticism from existing companies like Energean, with the overarching goal of ensuring national energy security for future electricity needs, particularly for AI-focused data centers.