Aussies bid on Israel's Leviathan field

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NETANYA, Israel, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Israeli company Delek Energy confirmed Monday that Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum made a bid for a stake in the Leviathan gas project.

Israeli business daily newspaper Globes reports that Woodside Petroleum is looking to take on a 30 percent stake in the Leviathan natural gas license.

Delek Group and Noble Energy, a company with headquarters in the United States, are among the major offshore players in the Israeli natural gas sector. They've discovered enough gas in the Tamar and Leviathan fields to last the country 150 years.

Delek, in a statement Monday, confirmed the Woodside proposal.

"With regard to the various reports published today in the Israeli media concerning the bid for the Leviathan strategic partner, the gas subsidiaries together with its partners in the Leviathan project announced that as part of the strategic process, a proposal was received by Woodside Petroleum Ltd.," the company said.

In March, Delek suggested Israel would need more than $10 billion worth of export infrastructure for the natural gas.

Globes last week reported that Russian natural gas company Gazprom is set to take a stake in Leviathan as well.