Partners on the massive Israeli Leviathan gas field have submitted a new plan for the field to the country's authorities which will decrease its cost by some US$1 billion, increase production capacity by 5 Bcm, and bring the project onstream in Q4 2019.
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Leviathan map, from Noble. |
The new plan would see Leviathan produce about 21 Bcm annually, and cost $5-6 billion. The initial plan was estimated at 16 Bcm at a cost of $6-7 billion.
In all, the partnership, consisting of Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, Avner Oil, and Ratio Oil Exploration, would have eight production wells connected by a subsea pipeline to a fixed platform. About 12 Bcm a year will be designated for Israel and neighboring countries, with a second exit point connected to an additional subsea pipeline with a capacity of 12 Bcm a year, designated mainly for export.
Of the eight wells, two have already been drilled and will be completed for production, Delek said.
Leviathan is one of the largest discoveries in the past 10 years. It is in the Mediterranean Sea, about 130km off Israel's coast in 1600m water depth.
The new development plan, submitted to Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources' Petroleum Commissioner, will either be implemented in one or two stages. Should it be implemented in two stages, the first stage consists of four development wells, and a 12 Bcm a year capacity production platform expected to cost $3.5-4 billion. The second stage consists of four additional wells, and the increase of the treatment capacity of the platform by an additional 9 Bcm per year.
Earlier this month, Noble announced plans to use a fixed platform at Leviathan to ensure timely first production.
“The initial development under this fixed platform concept would be anchored by Israeli domestic demand, Jordan power needs, and Egyptian industrial demand,” Noble executive VP, operations Gary Willingham said earlier this month. “While continuing to refine the technical requirements, initial capacity could start at over 1 Bcf/d and is quickly expandable to more than 2 Bcf/d. This option provides the most flexibility to match contracted volumes with accelerated development, while retaining the capability to meet existing and growing demand.”
On 17 December, Nobel received approval from the Israeli government to move forward with the development of Leviathan, in addition to the Tamar expansion.
Noble originally expected Leviathan’s first phase of development to be approved in 2014, however, experienced several setbacks amid Israeli political disgreements over the country's natural gas policy.
Noble operates Leviathan with 39.66% interest. Partners include Delek Drilling (22.67%), Avner Oil (22.67%), and Ratio Oil Exploration (15%).
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