Israel has the largest deposit of natural gas on earth. Crude oil is on its way.
Critics fear underground fires? What kind of nonsense is that?
As an aside, "stands an alternative oil man with an unforgettable name: Harold Vinegar." is somewhat funny in that Heinz white vinegar is made from 190proof alcohol made from corn, and the envirowackos just love to turn food into less efficient energy, and drive up the price of both energy, food, and taxes in the process.
I can't quite fathom Israel having the largest deposit of NG. Perhaps there's some qualification of it's purity? Not all NG out of the ground is equal, BTU per cubic foot, that is, not to mention other gases, some that are quite useful, like helium.
Israel may have, though I doubt it, the world’s largest or second largest single shale oil or gas field. Given the size of the country, there is no way it has “the world’s second largest deposits of the stuff.”
That would be US or (possibly) Russia. Most of the world hasn’t really been explored for shale gas and oil.