Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) will make every effort to meet, and possibly beat, the April 2013 target date for natural gas production at the Tamar field, chairman and CEO Charles Davidson told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office today.
Netanyahu said that he sees a vital need in the rapid planning and construction of an additional natural gas terminal in Israel, which is essential for the energy security of the State of Israel and the stability of the major companies operating in the region.
Davidson and Noble Energy director of Eastern Mediterranean Operations Lawson Freeman told Netanyahu that the company would be able to supply additional natural gas for the Israeli market by developing the Noa field and the smaller fields around the Yam Tethys field.
The Prime Minister's Office called the meeting "routine". The participants discussed the Tzemah Committee recommendations on the structure of Israel's natural gas market and gas exports. The committee's interim reports included problematic recommendations for Noble Energy and its Israeli partners in the Tamar and Leviathan fields. Energy industry sources believe that Davidson asked Netanyahu to ease some of the committee's recommendations.
These requests likely refer to the Tzemah committee's unequivocal requirement for the construction of a natural gas export infrastructure on land controlled by Israel, in contrast to Noble Energy's plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in southern Cyprus. The committee also advises assigning export quotas between reserves and large reserves that do not exceed 200 billion cubic meters, which prevents Noble Energy from increasing the export quota of Leviathan at the expense of Tamar.
70% of Tamar is slated for the Israeli market, and the Tzemah committee recommends allowing the export of up to 50% of gas of large reserves. This restriction prevents Noble Energy from assigning 20% of the Tamar surplus to Leviathan in order to increase the latter's export quota to 60%. Leviathan is double the size of Tamar.
Noble Energy and Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) subsidiaries Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) jointly own Yam Tethys, Noa and their satellite fields. Noble Energy owns 36% of Tamar 39.66% of Leviathan, Avner and Delek Drilling each own 15.625% of Tamar and 22.67% of Leviathan, Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L) owns 28.7% of Tamar, and Dor Alon Energy in Israel (1988) Ltd. (TASE:DRAL) unit Alon Natural Gas Exploration Ltd. (TASE: ALGS) owns 4%, and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) owns 15% of Leviathan.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 16, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012