Israel has offered to export natural gas to India. Negotiations for the gas deal are set to intensify when India's foreign minister visits Israel in January. The offer was said to be made by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz during his visit to India last week. India has since announced its intention to conduct further research on the possibility of a gas deal, and may soon send a delegation to meet with officials in the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry, and the Energy and Water Ministry. Recent discoveries of gas in the Leviathan and Tamar fields have the potential to turn Israel into an important player in the natural gas industry. Estimates show that Leviathan has some 16 trillion cubic feet of gas, worth over $160 billion. Tamar has an estimated eight trillion cubic feet of gas, and production will begin in 2013.