Delek updates budget for Tamar field

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TEL AVIV, Israel, March 11 (UPI) -- The Delek Group said it partners working the Tamar natural gas field off the Israeli coast approved a project budget of around $3.2 billion.

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 estimate the Tamar field holds at least 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Delek said that its partners agreed on a budget for the project of $3.2 billion, up from a previous estimate of $3.1 billion.

Delek said gas from Tamar would be exploited using a floating liquefied natural gas facility in a way that doesn't affect the supply of natural gas to the Israeli market. Last month, it signed a heads of agreement deal with Russian gas company Gazprom for the sale of 3 million tons per year of LNG from Tamar.

Israel is looking to diversify a natural gas sector that depends in large part on Egypt. Conflict in the Sinai Peninsula has disrupted Egyptian gas deliveries.