Report: Israel, Jordan on Verge of Gas Deal

Israel will in the coming months sign a deal to export natural gas to Jordan, sources in the industry said Wednesday. Business daily Globes had previously quoted Keith Elliot, vice president of Noble Energy, as saying the same thing in a recent conference in the U.S. Noble is one of the two companies developing the Leviathan gas field.

Elliot said that Israel “now has the opportunity to use the gas not only for the benefit of itself, but of its neighbors as well. We are currently negotiating the export of gas from the Leviathan field to Jordan.” Israel and Jordan had previously been in discussions on gas exports over the next 15 years, in a deal that at the time had been estimated to be worth about $15 billion. However, those talks were suspended when the government decided to change the framework of its deal with Noble and its partner in the Leviathan project, Delek Drilling.

The Jordanian parliament this week authorized the investment of Israeli companies in several national infrastructure projects, Globes reported. The investments had previously been banned.