Globes: Leviathan submits first-phase development plan

The Leviathan partners have submitted the first phase of the development plan for the Leviathan gas field to the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources, sources inform "Globes." The first stage will include a Floating Production Storage and Offload (FPSO) facility with 16 BCM capacity for gas, which will be linked up to a pipeline connecting it to the Israeli grid.

"Globes" has also learned that the potential annual production capacity of the field will be 16 BCM, 60% higher than the Tamar field's 10 BCM. The leviathan field will have eight boreholes compared with Tamar's five.

The cost of developing the Leviathan field including the FPSO is likely to reach $6.5 billion but despite the high cost this is the option that will allow the natural gas to flow swiftly to Israel. According to the plan gas from the Leviathan field will only come on stream in early 2018 and the offshore production and processing installation will avoid the protracted amount of time it would take to get the approvals and permits for an onshore facility.

A further advantage of the FPSO plan is that if the Leviathan partners want to export gas via a marine pipeline to Turkey or Egypt, they will be able to do so swiftly and relatively cheaply. For exports to these countries, pipelines could provide a direct link without the need to first bring the gas ashore to Israel. MORE