Leviathan part of Israeli gas 'revolution,' exec says

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 12 (UPI) -- The $2 billion raised to develop the Leviathan natural gas field offshore Israel will help support the country's energy revolution, a corporate director said.

Delek Drilling and Avner Oil, two companies working at the giant offshore gas field, said they raised $2 billion in an international bond offering.

"The development of the Leviathan reserve will allow the continuation of the Israeli natural gas revolution and regional and international export that will significantly strengthen Israel's geopolitical standing," Gideon Tadmor, Avner Oil's chairman, said Sunday.

Leviathan, with an estimated 18 trillion cubic feet of gas, should go onstream in 2016. Much of the reserves from the offshore field are already designated for exports to regional customers.

Noble Energy, another drilling partner, this year signed export contracts for gas from the Leviathan and nearby Tamar natural gas fields with Jordanian and Palestinian authorities.

Tamar, with an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, entered into production in March 2013.