US major ExxonMobil is considering farming-in to Israel’s largest to-date gas discovery, the 22tcf Leviathan field, according to Bloomberg. The firm is considering building a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant as part of the field’s further development.
The field, operated by fellow US firm Noble Energy is due for start-up in Q4 this year (MEES, 5 April). Australian LNG experts Woodside pulled out of a 2015 deal to take a 25% stake in the field with FLNG very much mooted as the preferred option at the time (MEES, 23 May 2014). Exxon’s entry would signal that Israel is on majors’ investment radar: hitherto they have steered clear for fear of alienating oil and gas rich Arab countries. The US major also paid $50,000 for data packages in Israel’s most recent bid round (MEES, 15 March). (CONTINUED - 225 WORDS)