The Israel Anti-trust Authority advised Noble Energy and its Leviathan field partners of its decision to not submit the Consent Decree to the Anti-trust Tribunal for final approval.
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Maps from Noble. |
Noble and its partners have requested a hearing with the Anti-trust Authority, which Noble Energy expects to occur in the next few weeks.
The Leviathan project is located on the Rachel and Amit licenses offshore Israel in 5550ft of water and has an estimated 19Tcf of discovered natural gas resources. Noble had anticipated that the first phase of development at Leviathan to be approved this year.
In March 2014, Noble, with partners, and the Anti-trust Authority reached an agreement, a key component for the final investment decision on the Leviathan development, for the Consent Decree that included the divestiture of the Tanin and Karish gas fields.
"The actions of the Anti-trust Authority are another disturbing example of the uncertain regulatory environment in Israel,” says Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy chairman. “Specifically, this is a matter that we believed was resolved some time ago and follows on recent assurances from the Anti-trust Authority that approval was forthcoming. We believe this is a harmful precedent for Israel to set and we will vigorously defend our rights relating to our assets."
"We are disappointed in this latest communication from the Anti-trust Authority,” says David L. Stover, Noble president and CEO. “Final resolution of this item, as well as a number of other regulatory matters, is required before we proceed with additional exploration or development investments in our Israel business."
Leviathan is Noble’s largest exploration discovery in its history with 19Tcf of gross natural gas mean resources, which represents the largest deepwater natural gas discovery in the world over the past decade. Should Leviathan begin production in late 2017/early 2018, Noble expects its total deliverability to be more than 3.5Bcf/d per day: 2Bcf/d from Tamar and 1.6Bcf/d from Leviathan.
Noble says the partnership is evaluating the monetization options at Leviathan, including various LNG and pipeline export opportunities, as well as tie-in to Israel to meet growing domestic demand.
In October, Noble announced an early 2018 start-up date for Leviathan in its 3Q earning statement. In September, Noble Energy and its partners submitted an initial development plan to Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources.
Working interests in the Leviathan Project includes Noble Energy as operator, with 39.66% interest, Delek Drilling (22.67%), Avner Oil Exploration (22.67%), and Ratio Oil Exploration (15%).
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Noble Energy releases Leviathan
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