Deal finalized on Major Gas Discovery offshore Israel

MELBOURNE–Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) Monday said it has struck a deal to buy a 30% stake in the Leviathan field offshore Israel, which is estimated to contain about 17 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, for an initial US$696 million upfront plus further payments that would be triggered in the future.The deal sets Woodside up to be the operator of any liquefied natural gas development of the field.
The company said an agreement in principle has been signed with Leviathan venture partners Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd., Delek Drilling LP (DEDR.L.TV), Avner Oil Exploration LP (AVOGF)) and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (RATI.L.TV) to buy an interest in the two petroleum licenses that contain the fiel

This will be interesting to watch as OPEC starts shivering about the possibility that their current monopoly reign over mainland Europe may finally be coming to an end. Its easier to ship LNG and oil to mainland Europe from the Israeli coast than it is from Saudi Arabia, UAE…