Development of the Leviathan natural gas field does not require construction of an onshore terminal, SBM manager Cobi Loper told "Globes". SBM is a partner in the drawing up Leviathan's development plan, and participated in a seminar on energy organized by the University of Haifa.
Loper's remarks will strengthen the opposition of Hefer Valley residents against the building of an onshore terminal in the area.
Energy market sources said in response that there was no connection between the two things. They said that that the gas terminal is critical for improving the advantages and security of Israel's gas pipeline network, which currently depends on just one pipeline and one terminal, and that the future terminal was also intended by other gas fields which will seek to deliver gas to the domestic market. The sources added that the government's plans call for much of the process to be carried out at sea.
The Tamar gas field, located 90 kilometers west of Haifa, delivers gas to Israel via an undersea pipeline and a production terminal offshore from Ashdod to an onshore terminal near the port. The Leviathan field, located 130 kilometer offshore, will be developed differently. Under the plan being drawn up by the well operator Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), production will be carried out by floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) ship, which could be 300 meters long.
Loper says that the ship is big enough to hold all the facilities needed to handle the gas. "All you need to put onshore is a Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) to lower the gas pressure," he said.
Hefer Valley residents are waging a public battle against plans to approve two 100-dunam (25-acre) sites in the area for the construction of a gas terminal. The National Planning and Building Commission has approved an environmental survey to be carried out at the two sites, which are proximate to the Meretz Sewage Treatment Plant by Kibbutz Ein Hashoresh and the Hagit power station near Yokne'am. The residents are demanding that the government find an alternative solution for handling the gas at sea.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 30, 2013
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