Israel Approves Chevron's Noble Deal
The Petroleum Council of Israel's energy ministry has approved Chevron's $5bn purchase of Houston-based producer Noble Energy, operator of the Leviathan gas field off Israel, the ministry said on September 14.
Chevron agreed the acquisition in July, in a bid to build up its US unconventionals position and expand in the east Mediterranean. Closure is expected early in the fourth quarter.
"When an American company of such a big size and with tremendous resources joins the Israeli market, the possibilities to promote the energy sector in Israel become limitless," energy minister Yuval Steinitz said.
Production at Leviathan began in January and is expected to reach 1.2bn ft3/day under its first phase. Noble and its other partners in the field – Delek Drilling and Ratio Oil Exploration – are considering a floating LNG project for subsequent phases. The field has an estimated 22 trillion ft3 of gas.
Noble also has a 25% interest in Israel's Tamar field, which came online in 2013, and a 35% interest in the undeveloped Aphrodite discovery offshore Cyprus.