by WorldTribune Staff, September 28, 2016
Partners in Israel’s largest natural gas reservoir have signed a $10 billion deal to export gas to Jordan for the next 15 years.
Noble Energy Inc. and Delek Drilling-LP will supply a gross 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the Leviathan field to Natural Electric Power Co. of Jordan.
The deal “positions the Leviathan project in the center of the regional energy map,” Yossi Abu, chief executive officer of Delek Drilling, said in a statement on Sept. 26.
“Partners in the Leviathan project will continue to pursue long-term agreements with other customers in the eastern Mediterranean, including in Egypt, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.”
The Leviathan partners are in the midst of pursuing multi-billion dollar contracts for exports after regulatory, legal and political challenges that held up gas development for years were swept away in mid-May.
The Leviathan site was discovered in 2010 in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel’s coast, and the first exports are targeted by 2019.
The new deal follows a previously-announced agreement with Jordan Bromine Co. and the Arab Potash Co., which will establish the first gas exports to Jordan from the Tamar field, the country’s second-biggest site, in late 2016, according to a report by Bloomberg.
After the announcement of the Leviathan deal, Bloomberg reported that Israel’s TA-Oil & Gas index rose 3 percent at the close in Tel Aviv, the biggest advance in more than two months. Avner Oil Exploration – LP, which has a 22.67 percent interest in the Leviathan site, increased 6.3 percent, the biggest gain since Jan. 28. Delek Drilling climbed 6.3 percent, the most since April 17 and Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP, another partner, advanced 6.2 percent to 3.09 shekels, the highest level since June 28.