Leviathan Partners Sign $3 Billion Gas Deal

The partners in the Leviathan natural-gas reservoir announced on Sunday the signing of a gas supply agreement with a local customer worth an estimated $3 billion, Globes reported.

The deal with the IPM company calls for providing 13 BCM of gas to the power station slated for construction in the Be’er Tuvia industrial zone. The 18-year contract is the second for the partners, following a deal with Edeltech, owned by the Edelsberg family, last January.

The IPM power station is controlled by Triple M and Israel Power Management 3000. It is designed for construction on a 62-dunam (15.5-acre) site, and will produce 430 megawatts of electricity using combined cycle power technology (natural gas as the main fuel and diesel oil as a backup).

The agreement was signed on the basis of the revised natural-gas plan approved by the government just a few days ago, the gas companies said.

Noble Energy business development manager Niv Sarne said, “We are pleased to sign the second Leviathan contract and the first to be signed after the government passed the new stability clause. This deal is an important milestone, in that it establishes another domestic contract that, together with additional domestic and export contracts, are essential for the quick development of Leviathan.”

Sarne also pointed out that IPM’s entrance into the market was made possible by the natural-gas discoveries. The supply of natural gas would enable IPM and other domestic customers to base their production facilities on a clean and inexpensive source of energy, and would enhance redundancy and energy security, he said.