  We build and experiment with a realistic but reduced natural gas model of
Israel. The system is unusual because (a) it is controlled from a limited
number of points which are at, or close to, the gas extraction sites offshore
of Israel's Mediterranean coast; (b) control specifies average flux at inlet,
not pressure; (c) there are no inland compressors to regulate pressure; (d)
power system is the main consumer of gas (70\% of Israel's power is generated
at gas-fired power plants distributed across the country). Nature of the system
suggests that a special attention should be given to understanding dynamics
driven by fast transients in gas consumption meeting intra-day variations in
the electricity demand, and accounting for increasing role of uncertain
renewable generation (mainly solar). Based on all of the above we pose and
resolve a sequence of dynamic and control challenges, such as: How to time
ramping up- and down- injection of gas to guarantee a healthy intra-day
line-pack which meets both pressure constraints and gas-extraction patterns? We
report simulation results and utilize monotonicity properties of the natural
gas flows which render robustness of our conclusions to the uncertainties of
the edge withdrawals of gas.
