Offshore staff
TEL AVIV, Israel – Mubadala Petroleum has agreed to acquire Delek Drilling’s 22% non-operated stake in the Tamar gas field offshore Israel for $1.025 billion, subject to certain adjustments.
The companies have signed a sales and purchase agreement.
The current partners in the Tamar project are Delek Drilling (22%), Chevron (operator, 25%), Isramco (28.75%), Tamar Petroleum (16.75%), Dor Gas (4%), and Everest (3.5%). Under the Gas Framework, outlined by the government of Israel, Delek Drilling is obliged to sell all its holdings in Tamar by the end of 2021.
Yossi Abu, CEO of Delek Drilling, said: “This transaction marks a milestone in the alignment between Israel and the UAE following the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement signed between the two countries in 2020.
“On completion, the deal will represent one of the largest transactions between an Israeli entity and an Arab entity, which shows how Israel’s natural gas resources can be a source of collaboration between nations.”
Discovered in 2009, the Tamar gas field is about 90 km (56 mi) west of Haifa, at an overall depth of 5,000 m (16,404 ft) below sea level, and in waters that are 1,700 m (5,577 ft) deep.
Production began in 2013. Five subsea production wells are tied back to the Tamar platform via two 140-km (87-mi) pipelines. The natural gas is then transmitted from the platform through a pipeline to the onshore terminal in Ashdod, and into the Israeli market through the INGL national gas pipeline. A proportion is exported on to Jordan and Egypt.
Post-sale of Tamar, Delek Drilling will own a 45.3% stake in the Leviathan gas field offshore Israel and a 30% stake in the Aphrodite field offshore Cyprus. The company said it will also expand its exploration portfolio in the Mediterranean region and invest in energy transition technologies.
09/02/2021
