Israeli gas may be bound for Egypt

HOUSTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Noble Energy said it was considering sending as much as 440 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Tamar field offshore Israel to a plant in Egypt. Noble and its field partners at Tamar signed a non-binding letter of intent with Union Fenosa Gas to deliver natural gas to a facility that can turn it into super-cooled liquefied natural gas. The letter of intent spells out a 15-year term for a total 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from Tamar. "This LOI with Union Fenosa Gas represents a major milestone for our Tamar asset and is indicative of the strong regional demand for natural gas," Keith Elliot, Noble's vice president in charge of regional operations, said in a statement Tuesday.

Spanish company UFG holds an 80 percent stake in the subsidiary controlling the Damietta LNG facility in Egypt. It has a peak processing capacity of 264 billion cubic feet per year.

Noble, which has headquarters in Houston, said a final deal with UFG should be developed within six months, though it's subject to the approval of the Israeli and Egyptian governments.

The Tamar field is estimated to hold 10 trillion cubic feet of discovered natural gas.