Israeli Court Lifts Leviathan Injunction

The Jerusalem District Court lifted the injunction preventing the start-up of the Leviathan rig and rejected another motion for an injunction on similar grounds. This paves the way for commercial gas production to start possibly December 23 from Israel's largest natural gas project.

The judge found that the petitioners' arguments were not supported by experts' opinions and there was not any evidence that high level pollution, during the rig's systems preparation for normal operation would create onshore health hazards along the shore.

Another request for an injunction to halt the the rig's operation touched on the same issues and was also rejected.

Following the court's decision, Delek Drilling, the senior partner in Leviathan, said in a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that commercial gas production from a whale will start next week without mentioning the timing. It is expected to start as soon as December 23, though the start might be delayed in a day or two. Leviathan Partnership must inform the area residents 48 hours in advance when the most polluting phase of the ramp up operation will be done.