Israeli firm Delek Group has said that the Final Investment Decision has been made for the development of the giant gas field in the Mediterranean – the Leviathan.

The company on Thursday said its subsidiaries Delek Drilling and Avner Exploration had taken the fid the development of Phase 1A in the development plan of the Leviathan Field, with an annual capacity of 12 BCM, in order to start the flow of natural gas from the Leviathan field by the end of 2019.

Asaf Bartfeld, President and CEO of Delek Group: “The final investment decision in Leviathan, following the Natural Gas Outline Plan, is not only a substantial step forward for Delek Group, but a major leap for the Israeli energy industry and economy. Developing Leviathan and pursuing more export agreements, coupled with supply to the domestic market, will ensure energy security for Israel and will add to Delek Group’s stability.”

The first phase of development of the Leviathan is expected to cost around $3.75 billion.

Noble Energy is the operator with 39.66% stake. The partners are Avner Oil Exploration (22.67%), Delek Drilling, (15.00%), and Ratio Oil Exploration ( 25.65%).

The Leviathan will be developed using a subsea system that connects production wells to a fixed platform located offshore with tie-in onshore in the northern part of Israel.

News of the Final Investment decision comes only two days after it was announced that Avner, and Delek Drilling had secured funding for their share of the development costs. More here:https://bit.ly/2kKVbxH

Worth noting, while Delek and Avner have made the Final Investment Decision on their part, same has to be done by the other partners in order for the FID to take effect.

Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Noble Energy asking when it will make the sanction, and what the FID would be dependent on.

While we are awaiting a response from Noble, here’s an interesting read:

When is a final investment decision (FID) not a FID?

Update:

Noble has confirmed it has sanctioned the first phase of the Leviathan field development. More here: https://bit.ly/2ltXqUT

Offshore Energy Today Staff