Israel’s Delek Group has announced that it is looking for a strategic partner to develop its offshore Leviathan gas field, where resources are estimated to be at least 17 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Delek, whose subsidiaries Delek Drilling and Avner Oil and Gas partnered Houston-based Noble Energy in the field, said it had received on 7 September proposals for the purchase of up to 30% of a working interest in Leviathan from “leading international companies engaged in [the] natural gas exploration and production industry.” The names of the companies said to have expressed an interest were not disclosed and Noble Energy told MEES that its Israeli partners made the disclosure under the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) rules.
Some months ago Noble said that it was searching for a partner to develop the field. Questions have arisen concerning Noble’s ability to build and operate an LNG plant and provide financing, which is expected to cost about $10bn. A key problem now facing Israel is where it might locate a facility, such as an LNG plant, for the purpose of gas export. Noble and Delek have proposed a joint onshore Israeli-Cypriot facility in Cyprus. (CONTINUED - 566 WORDS)
