By Christie U. Omonigho
- Project increases affordable, reliable gas for Israel, Egypt and Jordan
Energy Window International (Media) – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) by its subsidiary, Chevron Mediterranean Limited (CML), and the working interest owners of the Leviathan natural gas reservoir said it has reached a Final Investment Decision (FID) to expand the production capacity of the strategic Leviathan production platform located offshore Israel.
In an email posted to Energy Window International (Media) Clay Neff, president of Chevron Upstream said: “Chevron is a leading energy player in the Eastern Mediterranean where we are focused on natural gas production and exports. Our operations are critical to meeting the growing energy needs of local and regional markets”.
“Our decision to invest in the expansion of Leviathan’s production capacity reflects our confidence in the future of energy in the region. Pragmatic U.S. and regional energy policies are helping to strengthen energy security across the Eastern Mediterranean and foster an environment that encourages investment in the Middle East and globally.”
The Leviathan expansion project is expected to come online towards the end of this decade.
The project according to the company’s statement includes drilling three additional offshore wells, adding additional subsea infrastructure, and enhancing the treatment facilities on the Leviathan production platform as progress is made towards increasing total gas delivery to Israel and the region to approximately 21 billion cubic meters (BCM) annually from the Leviathan reservoir.
“This milestone demonstrates our ongoing commitment to partner with the State of Israel to develop natural gas resources and provide essential energy to millions of people in Israel, Egypt and Jordan,” says Jack Baker, managing director of Chevron’s Eastern Mediterranean region.
The Leviathan production platform is located approximately 10 kilometers offshore Dor, Israel.
Leviathan working interest owners include Chevron Mediterranean Limited as operator (39.66%), NewMed Energy (45.34%), and Ratio Energies (15%).
In addition to Leviathan, Chevron says its assets in the Eastern Mediterranean include the Tamar gas producing field (offshore Israel), and the Aphrodite gas field which is currently in development (offshore Cyprus). It also said that it is the operator of 2 Egyptian exploration blocks, and also in a non-operated joint venture (NOJV) in one Egyptian exploration block (in the Mediterranean Sea).