Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and is inviting U.S. energy companies to join in reaping the rewards, an official said from Houston.

Amit Lang, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Economy, told the Houston Chronicle that U.S. companies "might find gold" in the form of natural gas through partnerships in Israel.

"All the predictions say that our gas discoveries are not done," he said in an interview published Sunday.

In September, Israel's Delek Group, alongside U.S. energy company Noble Energy, signed an agreement with the National Electric Power Co. of Jordan for natural gas deliveries from the Leviathan natural gas field off the Israeli coast to the delight of the U.S. State Department.

"We probably have more gas around the Leviathan," Lang said. "And we need more companies to come get licenses for exploration."

The State Department facilitated talks between the parties in February that led to the signing of a similar deal for gas from Israel's offshore gas field, Tamar.

Leviathan, with an estimated 18 trillion cubic feet of gas, should go onstream in 2016. Tamar is estimated to hold as much as 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Noble is the only U.S. partner working in Israeli waters, but Lang said he's in Houston hoping to court more U.S. investors to the offshore potential.

"We very much hope that other companies based in Houston, the big oil and gas companies, will also go into Israel and get a license for exploration so we have more competition," he said. "It's not good to be in one company's hands."