Leviathan Operators Eye Gas Output Boost

The companies operating the Leviathan gas field offshore Israel plan to increase the production capacity of the project substantially, from 12 billion cubic meters annually at the moment to as much as 21 billion cubic meters.

Per a Reuters report quoting NewMed Energy, one of the partners, the expansion would require an investment of some $2.4 billion. The final capacity target for the operators is a production capacity of 23 billion cubic meters, the report said without mentioning a date. The short-term target is to boost capacity to 14 billion cubic meters by next year.

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The Leviathan project, led by Chevron, is one of the biggest natural gas developments in the Mediterranean. It supplies gas to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. Europe has been looking to secure some Mediterranean gas supply over the long term as well to secure its energy needs.

“The Leviathan reservoir is the most stable and strongest energy hub in the Mediterranean,” Yossi Abu, the chief executive of NewMed Energy, said as quoted by Reuters. “The expanded production capacity will meet the increasing demand in the domestic market, in addition to bolstering Israel’s status as an energy provider and strengthening regional ties and collaborations.”

The Leviathan field is located in the Levant Basin, which has seen some 85 trillion cu ft in hydrocarbon resources discovered over the past 20 years. In Israel alone, thanks to an aggressive push to develop local hydrocarbon resources, natural gas reserves have swelled by 40% over ten years. Offshore production of natural gas since 2013, when the Tamar field, was started, has grown fivefold.

Leviathan is one of the biggest deepwater natural gas fields in the world and the biggest in the Mediterranean. Back in 2023, Chevron and NewMed Energy discussed adding a floating LNG facility at the field to further boost supply and diversify destinations.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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