Chevron gives green light to expansion of giant Israeli Leviathan field

Chevron, through its arm "Chevron Mediterranean Limited", has made the final investment decision to develop and expand the production capacity of the giant Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel. The Leviathan field's reserves are approximately 600 billion cubic meters. The expansion, costing approximately $2.4 billion, will allow for production and supply within Israel and its neighboring countries until 2064.

Clay Neff, President of Chevron's Exploration and Production sector, said in a statement: "Chevron is a key player in the Eastern Mediterranean energy sector, with our focus on natural gas production and export. Our operations are vital to meeting the growing energy needs in local and regional markets."

Neff added: "Our decision to invest in expanding the production capacity of the Leviathan field reflects our confidence in the future of energy in the region. Pragmatic energy policies in the United States and the region contribute to enhancing energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean, and create a stimulating environment for investment in the Middle East and the world."

The Leviathan expansion project is expected to begin operations by the end of the current decade. The project includes drilling three additional offshore wells, adding new subsea infrastructure, and developing processing facilities on the Leviathan production platform. These steps aim to increase the total amount of gas supplied to Israel and the region to approximately 21 billion cubic meters annually.

For his part, Jack Baker, General Manager for the Eastern Mediterranean region at Chevron, affirmed that "this step embodies our continuous commitment to partnering with the State of Israel to develop natural gas resources, and provide essential energy to millions of people in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan."

The Leviathan platform is located approximately 10 kilometers off the coast of the "Dor" region. The work shares in the field are distributed as follows: "Chevron Mediterranean Limited" (operator) 39.66 percent, "NewMed Energy" 45.34 percent, and "Ratio Energy" 15 percent. In addition to Leviathan, Chevron's assets in the Eastern Mediterranean include the producing Tamar gas field, and the Aphrodite field under development off the coast of Cyprus. The company also operates two exploration blocks in Egypt, in addition to its contribution to a non-operated joint venture in another exploration block in the Egyptian Mediterranean.