Noble, Delek sign $15-billion deal to export Israel gas to Egypt
TEL AVIV (Bloomberg) -- Noble Energy Inc. and Delek Drilling-LP, the lead partners in Israel’s largest gas fields, said they signed a $15 billion agreement to export gas to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings.
The energy producers plan to supply around 64 Bcm of natural gas from the Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs for a 10-year period, the companies said in an emailed statement. The export deal needs regulatory and government approvals in Israel and Egypt, they said.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Oil & Gas Index jumped as much as 16%, the most on record.
The deal with Egypt follows an agreement with Jordan in 2016 and puts Houston-based Noble and its Israeli partners on track to become regional exporters. Substantial obstacles still remain such as how to transmit the gas to Egypt, but the agreement suggests Israel and its neighbors are bolstering their ties as they seek to benefit from large discoveries in recent years.
