Gazprom Signs Deal on Israeli LNG

Russia's Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural-gas producer, is seeking exclusive rights to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from fields off Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading has signed a heads of agreement with Levant LNG Marketing Corporation, outlining the terms of a 20- year deal from the Tamar floating LNG plant, the unit said today in an e-mailed statement to media.

 The deal aims to expand Gazprom’s LNG marketing and trading portfolio. It follows an earlier Letter of Intent signed between the two parties in March 2012.

The Tamar FLNG project is based on feed gas from Tamar and Dalit gas fields offshore Israel, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, being developed by the Tamar upstream consortium (Noble Energy Mediterranean, Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration, Isramco Negev-2 and Dor Gas).

Vitaly Vasiliev, chief executive of Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited, said: “This is an important milestone for strengthening Gazprom’s position in the global LNG market."