Woodside Completes Leviathan Gas Field Deal
Woodside Petroleum and partners in Leviathan field, offshore Israel have signed a deal which will allow the Australian firm to buy stake in the licence for $1.03 billion in cash and future revenues.
As per the deal, each of the existing Leviathan partners, Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration will sell 25 percent stake in the licence.
The deal builds on the initial in-principle agreement reached in December 2012.
Following completion of the transaction, Woodside will become the operator of any LNG development of the field.
“Total compensation to Noble Energy is anticipated to include $525 million in cash payments plus $502 million in shared future revenues. The initial cash payment of $390 million is payable at closing of the transaction, which is expected in 2014. The remaining cash amount of $135 million is due when a final investment decision is made in relation to an LNG or FLNG development or as regional export contracts are executed in excess of a threshold volume amount, whichever occurs earlier,” Noble said in a statement.
The Leviathan project is located on the Rachel and Amit licenses offshore Israel in 5,550 feet of water. It has an estimated 19 Tcf of discovered natural gas resources.
Following completion of the transaction, working interests in the Leviathan Project will be: Noble Energy (30.00 percent), Delek Drilling (16.94 percent), Avner Oil Exploration (16.94 percent), Woodside Petroleum (25.00 percent), and Ratio Oil Exploration (11.12 percent).
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