Israeli upstream firm Delek Drilling expects its 649bn m³ Leviathan field to sell around 10bn m³ of gas this year, up from the 8.9bn m³ forecast in July last year.
The increase is based on "new agreements for the sale of natural gas" and "actual exports to Egypt from the second half of 2020" along with the expected scope of production from the Karish-Tanin project, the firm said today. Delek also revised Leviathan's estimated gas reserves higher to 649bn m³, including 7bn m³ produced last year, from 620bn m³, the firm said.
The Leviathan partners sold around 4.2bn m³ in the second half of last year — 5pc more than the forecast for the period made in July, Delek added. Delek holds a 45pc stake in the field, while US firm Chevron, which operates the reservoir, holds a 39.6pc stake.
Leviathan's expected sales this year are still below a previous forecast of 10.8bn m³, despite the upward revision to the forecast. The Leviathan partners had revised down expected sales in July 2020 as the Covid-19 outbreak weighed heavily on gas demand in the region.
Egypt is one of the main buyers of Leviathan production and Israeli gas exports, with the two countries potentially planning to boost Israel-Egypt flows in the coming years. Egypt and Israel recently announced that the countries are considering building a new offshore pipeline directly linking Israel's offshore fields with Egypt's liquefaction facilities, which could allow Egypt to boost LNG exports.
This article is reproduced at www.argusmedia.com
