By Sara Toth Stub
JERUSALEM--The partners in Israel's large offshore Leviathan
natural gas field said Sunday that the estimated amount of gas in
the field has been raised to about 22 trillion cubic feet.
Previously, the field was estimated to contain 19 trillion cubic
feet of gas, and was the largest gas field discovered globally in
2010. The estimate was raised due to new tests and analysis of
three-dimensional seismic data by the petroleum consulting company
Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc., the partners in the
deep-sea Mediterranean field said.
The Israeli partners in the Leviathan field include Delek Group
Ltd.'s subsidiaries Delek Drilling Ltd. Partnership (DEDRL.TV) and
Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (AVNRL.TV). Israel-based
Ratio Oil and Gas Exploration Ltd. Partnership (RATIL.TV) owns 15%
of the field, and U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) holds 39%.
The field has not started production yet, but Israel hopes to
export most of its output once production begins later this decade.
The partners have not yet secured a market for exports from
Leviathan, but in June they signed a non-binding agreement to
supply natural gas to a BG Group (BG.L) facility in Egypt.
Another nearby large field, Tamar, began production in 2013, and
most of its production has been earmarked for domestic use,
securing Israel's energy needs for at least three decades.
The increased production from Tamar, and potential gas from
Leviathan, has been one factor boosting the value of the shekel
against the dollar during the last year.
At 0835GMT, shares of Delek Group were up 33 shekels ($9.65), or
2.43%, at ILS1,390.00; shares of Delek Drilling were up ILS0.28, or
1.46%, at ILS19.44; shares of Avner were up ILS0.07, or 2.02%, at
ILS3.53; and shares of Ratio were up ILS0.017, or 3.51%, at
ILS0.50, in a higher Tel Aviv market.
--Write to Sara Toth Stub at realtimedesklondon@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires