Partners in the Israeli Leviathan offshore natural gas project have submitted a multi-billion-dollar plan with the government to significantly expand the field and boost production, one of the partners in the group said on Sunday.
NewMed Energy said its plan that it filed with the Energy Minister's Petroleum Commissioner calls for the drilling of three additional production wells, more undersea systems and expansion of processing facilities on the platform that will increase total gas production capacity to 21 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year and cost an estimated $2.4 billion.
Leviathan, a deep-sea field with huge deposits, came online at the end of 2019 and produces 12 bcm of gas per year for sale to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
That will rise to some 14 bcm in 2026 with the completion of laying of a third pipeline.
A second stage, NewMed said, would see the drilling of additional production wells and possibly lay a fourth pipeline between the field and platform and raise the maximum daily production capacity by 2 bcm a year to a total of 23 bcm annually.
The partners are seeking to sign new supply deals to customers in Israel and abroad of more than 100 bcm.
NewMed noted that the partners have already approved a budget of $505 million that included the purchase of equipment.
"The Leviathan reservoir is the most stable and strongest energy hub in the Mediterranean," said Yossi Abu, CEO of NewMed Energy. "The expanded production capacity will meet the increasing demand in the domestic market, in addition to bolstering Israel's status as an energy provider and strengthening regional ties and collaborations."
In October last year, Chevron Mediterranean announced that expansion work had postponed due to the escalation of security situation resulting from the Israel-Gaza war.
(Reuters - Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) (Extra reporting: Wendy Laursen)
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