RPT-Israel issues tender for LNG terminal
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JERUSALEM, June 22 (Reuters) - Israel issued a tender on Monday for the construction of an offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving terminal with a daily processing capacity of no less than 16 million cubic metres.
The Finance and National Infrastructure ministries said in a statement the successful bidder would agree to a build-operate-transfer (BOT) deal under which it will receive a licence to develop and operate the project for 20 to 30 years, after which the ownership will shift to the government.
The ministry said companies have until mid September to bid for the project which was approved by the government in May after a U.S.-Israeli exploration group discovered large natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.
A group led by Noble Energy (NBL.N) said in January it had found more than 3 trillion cubic feet (88 billion cubic meters) of gas at the Tamar exploration well, 90 km off the Israeli northern port of Haifa.
The deposit is three times as large as a site already in production off the country's southern coast and had sent energy shares soaring in a country anxious to reduce its dependency on foreign fuel.
Noble Energy owns 36 percent of the site while Isramco Negev (ISRAp.TA) owns 28.75 percent and Avner Oil Exploration (AVNRp.TA) and Delek Drilling (DEDRp.TA) 15.625 percent each. Dor Gas Exploration owns 4 percent. Delek and Avner are units of conglomerate Delek Group (DELKG.TA). [ID:nL1462985]
Analysts estimate the natural gas is worth about $26 billion and will be sold starting in 2013.
Israel is also receiving natural gas from Egypt under a 20-year deal made in 2005 as well as from the Yam Thetis group that is developing a natural gas site off Israel's southern Mediterranean coast. The consortium is comprised of Noble, Delek Driling and Avner Oil Exploration. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr, Editing by Keiron Henderson)
