Leviathan partners approve development plan. First gas slated for late 2019

Partners in the giant Leviathan gas field offshore Israel have approved the field’s development plan setting the target for the first natural gas production for the end of 2019.

The field is operated by the U.S. oil company Noble Energy with Israeli companies, Delek, Avner Oil, and Ratio Oil Exploration, as partners in the project.

The plan anticipates the production of 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year (1.2Bcf/d) at a scope of $3.5-4 billion and involves a subsea system that connects production wells to a fixed platform located offshore with tie-in onshore in the northern part of Israel.

According to a statement by Delek on Monday, the boards of directors of Delek and Avner have decided to approve the development plan, work plan and budget, and have authorized the partnerships’ managements to approve the FID for the development of the Leviathan field as soon as possible in order to facilitate the start of natural gas production from the Leviathan field by the end of 2019.

Asaf Bartfeld, President and CEO of Delek Group, Chairman of Delek Drilling, stated: “Approval of the development plan, work plan and proposed budget for the development of stage 1A of the Leviathan project, as well as the authorization of the Delek Group Partnerships’ managements to approve the Leviathan FID, will allow us meet the group’s target of first gas from Leviathan to the Israeli market and to countries in the region by the end of 2019.”

Recently, a new buyer was found for the Leviathan field gas as the partners inked a deal to sell the gas to Or Power Energies to be used for operating a power station. Under the deal signed on November 30, 2016, the Leviathan partners would supply the buyer with an overall amount of 8.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Earlier this year, the partnership executed a gas sales and purchase agreement for the Leviathan field gas to the National Electric Power Company Ltd. (NEPCO) of Jordan for consumption in power production facilities. Under this agreement, the partnership agreed to supply a gross quantity of approximately 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas from the Leviathan, or 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) over a 15-year term.

Offshore Energy Today Staff