Newly discovered natural gas reserves off Israel’s coast will contribute to greater-than-expected economic growth in 2013, according to statements issued by Israel’s Finance Ministry. A joint U.S.-Israel consortium is expected to start drilling for the gas in 2013, extracting some of the estimated 274 billion cubic meters of reserves from the so-called Tamar field. Israel’s commitment to sustainably exploiting its energy resources has been challenged by regional rivals, most prominently Turkey, though joint exploration with the U.S. will complicate efforts to deny Israel access to its reserves.