Offshore staff
HOUSTON – Noble Energy has agreed to sell a 3% interest in the Tamar gas field offshore Israel to the Harel Group and Israel Infrastructure Fund (IIF) for $369 million.
Harel is an insurance provider and pension manager in Israel, while IIF is said to be the country’s largest infrastructure private equity fund.
Noble anticipates closure for the transaction during the current quarter, subject to customary terms and conditions. Harel/IIF have a further option before closing to purchase an additional 1% interest.
Gary W. Willingham, Noble’s Operations executive vice president, said: “This transaction reflects the inherent value of our producingTamar asset, which reliably fuels more than half of Israel’s electricity generation today.
“It also highlights the potential of our other undeveloped Levant basin discoveries, which share similar reservoir and well deliverability characteristics and are poised to bring needed energy to a region which is fundamentally short natural gas.”
The proceeds, he added, will contribute to Noble’s upcoming capital investments in Israel, including the deepwater 22-tcfLeviathan project.
The company and its partners plan to drill and complete an additional development well at the Tamar field in response to increased demand as Israel replaces coal for clean-burning natural gas.
Drilling is set to start during 4Q. The additional producing well will further enhance redundancy while meeting maximum deliverability for extended peak demand periods.
Noble is in the process of selling down 11% of its interest in the Tamar field in accordance with Israel’s approvednatural gas regulatory framework. It aims to sell the remaining 7-8% over the next 36 months, which will leave it with a 25% operated stake in the 10-tcf field.
07/05/2016
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