Israel-based Delek Group subsidiaries Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration will receive up to $1.75 bln in financing to fund its share in the development of the Leviathan natural gas field in Mediterranean Sea, Israel.
As part of the commitment letters, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration will receive $1.5 bln-1.75 bln of financing from HSBC and JP Morgan.
The loans will be used to finance the first stage of Leviathan field development project, which is scheduled to commence gas production in 2017.
Delek said that Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration will sign a separate financing deal with the banks for the agreed terms by 20 February 2017.
Delek Group president and CEO Asaf Bartfeld said: «Closing of the financing agreement brings Delek Group and our Gas Partnerships closer to taking the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Leviathan field.
Completion of the long regulatory process allows us to concentrate on implementing the Natural Gas Outline Plan, to develop the Leviathan field, to supply the requirements of the Israeli energy market, and to extend export activities.»
Noble Energy operates the Leviathan field with a 39.66% stake while Ratio Oil Exploration holds 15% stake. Additionally, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration own 22.67% stakes each.
According to estimates, the Leviathan field has natural gas reserves of 18 trillion cubic feet (tcf) as well as 600 million barrels of oil beneath the gas layer.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the entire Leviathan Basin holds a mean approximation of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
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