The partners in Israel's largest natural gas field, the Leviathan reservoir, led by Texas-based Noble Energy and Israeli Delek Group, are about to secure financing for its development, according to international news outlets.
"The Leviathan financing agreements are in the final stages of negotiations," Yossi Abu, the CEO of Delek Drilling, announced on Nov. 21 at a Tel Aviv conference, the media outlets reported.
Noble Energy and the Delek Group already have a large export contract in hand and are seeking to obtain funds to start exploring the field with an estimated 622 billion cubic meters of reserves.
Nobel Energy also announced at the weekend that it plans to sell 10 percent of its stake in the Leviathan field. The company now holds a 39.7 percent share, making it the second-largest partner.
Nobel is expected to raise $600 million or more selling its stake, with analysts valuing the field at between $5.5 billion to $6 billion.
Ratio Oil Exploration 1992, with a 15-percent stake in the Leviathan, has sold new debt and equity this year and raised about a third of its $600 million portion of the project.
The partners have also signed a $10 billion agreement with Jordan's Natural Electric Power two months ago and are reported to be in talks with major banks after clearing antitrust issues with the Israeli government earlier this year.
They will decide on a strategy to deploy the funds in December, according to Abu.
- Exports to Turkey
Plans to export more gas to its neighboring region are also ongoing, as the companies try to clinch deals with either Turkey or Shell Plc.
Negotiations with Turkey concerning the laying of a 500-kilometer pipeline are ongoing and will be ready for operations in three years' time, Israel's energy minister Yuval Steinitz was reported as saying at the same Tel Aviv conference.
"When production in Leviathan starts in the three years' time, exports to Turkey will start as well," Steinitz was quoted as saying.
(Anadolu Agency)
