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JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Backers of Israel's massive Leviathan natural gas field signed a $10 billion deal on Monday to supply 1.6 trillion feet (tcf) of gas to Jordan's National Electric Power Company.
"Subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan, sales ...are anticipated to commence at field startup," said Texas-based Noble Energy
NBL.N
, the project's operator.
Talks on the contract began more than two years ago.
The 15-year deal for Leviathan, which holds an estimated 22 tcf of gas, should help the U.S.-Israeli group secure funds to bring it online.
Production is expected to begin around 2019 or 2020.
The Leviathan group has also been in talks to export much larger quantities of gas to companies in Egypt.
Shares in the Israeli partners - which include Ratio Oil
RATIp.TA
, Delek Group
DLEKG.TA
and its subsidiaries Avner Oil
AVNRp.TA
and Delek Drilling
DEDRp.TA
- were halted by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange for more than a half hour.
Leviathan, discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010, is one of the world's largest offshore gas discoveries of the past decade.
Last year, Israel approved plans for a 15.5 kilometre (9.6 mile) pipeline near the Dead Sea to export gas to Jordan.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; additional reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jason Neely) ((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com; +972-2-632-2202; Reuters Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Backers of Israel's massive Leviathan natural gas field signed a $10 billion deal on Monday to supply 1.6 trillion feet (tcf) of gas to Jordan's National Electric Power Company.
"Subject to regulatory approvals from Israel and Jordan, sales ...are anticipated to commence at field startup," said Texas-based Noble Energy
Talks on the contract began more than two years ago.
The 15-year deal for Leviathan, which holds an estimated 22 tcf of gas, should help the U.S.-Israeli group secure funds to bring it online.
Production is expected to begin around 2019 or 2020.
The Leviathan group has also been in talks to export much larger quantities of gas to companies in Egypt.
Shares in the Israeli partners - which include Ratio Oil
Leviathan, discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010, is one of the world's largest offshore gas discoveries of the past decade.
Last year, Israel approved plans for a 15.5 kilometre (9.6 mile) pipeline near the Dead Sea to export gas to Jordan.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; additional reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jason Neely) ((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com; +972-2-632-2202; Reuters Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))