Leviathan gas field group submits $6.5 b development plan
After export deals go sour, Nobel energy and Israel's Delek group finally present plan to get Israel's natural gas operation in business, with production slated to begin in 2018.
The partners in Leviathan, Israel's largest natural gas field, have submitted their initial development plan to Israeli authorities, which one source said on Tuesday envisages producing 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year.
The group, led by Texas-based Noble Energy and Israel's Delek Group, handed in its proposal after months of trying to determine the best way to develop the Mediterranean field, which lies in about 1500 meters of water about 80 miles (130 kilometers) off Israel's coast.
Talks to bring in Australia's Woodside Petroleum, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) specialist, fell through in March.
With estimated reserves of 622 bcm, Leviathan is one of the world's largest offshore discoveries of the past decade.
A spokeswoman for Israel's Energy Ministry, which must now approve the plan, confirmed it had been received, but disclosed no details.
An industry source said the first stage will see a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit passing 16 bcm of gas a year via pipelines to Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other neighbors that decide to buy the gas.
Production is expected to begin by 2018 and initial investment could reach $6.5 billion, the source said, which was in line with previous forecasts.
The Leviathan partners are in talks with Britain's BG Group , which wants to bring gas in to feed its Egyptian LNG export plant, and with Jordan's national electricity company.
Later development plans were not included in the proposal, and could include direct LNG exports to more distant markets, officials have said.
