PHOTO: Noble Energy cuts first steel for Leviathan project offshore Israel

U.S. energy major Noble Energy has shared an image on social media channels on Tuesday of the first steel cutting ceremony for the Leviathan natural gas project offshore Israel.

Noble Energy operates Leviathan with a 39.66 percent working interest. Other interest owners are Delek Drilling with 22.67 percent, Avner Oil Exploration with 22.67 percent, and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) Limited Partnership with the remaining 15 percent.

The steel cutting ceremony was held in Houston and was attended by Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and project partners. Steinitz also shared an image from the ceremony on his Twitter account where he said that the platform construction would begin soon.

It was only two weeks ago that the Israeli firm Delek Group, through its subsidiaries Delek Drilling and Avner Exploration, made the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the giant Mediterranean gas field.

On the same day, Leviathan operator Noble Energy confirmed it had also sanctioned the first phase of the development.

In early March, Wood Group started the detailed engineering for the platform – including the topsides and jacket – for the Leviathan development.

As for the development concept itself, it will include four subsea wells, each capable of flowing more than 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas. The field as a whole has been estimated to hold around 22 Tcf of gas. Production will be gathered at the field and delivered via two 73-mile flowlines to a fixed platform, with full processing capabilities, located six miles offshore.

The Leviathan platform will have an initial deck weight of 22,000 tons. Processed gas will connect to the Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd onshore transportation grid in the northern part of the country and regional markets via onshore export pipelines. The approved development plan allows for future expansion from its initial 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) capacity to 2.1 Bcf/d.

The first phase of development of the Leviathan is expected to cost around $3.75 billion and first gas from the field is expected by the end of 2019.

Offshore Energy Today Staff