US gas giant agrees to finance Israel’s biggest offshore gas field

US energy giant Noble Energy announces that financing has been secured to develop the Israel’s offshore Leviathan gas field, with the aim of bringing it online by 2019.

“Bringing Leviathan online will expand Israel’s supply of natural gas, further support the State’s commitment to convert coal-fired power generation facilities to cleaner burning gas, and provide affordable energy resources to Israeli citizens and neighboring countries in the undersupplied region,” David L. Stover, Noble Energy’s chairman, president and CEO, says in a statement.

Israel hopes the development of Leviathan will allow it to export gas, which could help grease the wheels of regional diplomacy.

The announcement ends months of deadlock over the specific terms of the deal.

Leviathan, discovered in 2010, is estimated to hold 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.

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