Egyptian group, Tamar partners sign gas deal

March 18, 2015
Partners in Tamar natural gas field offshore Israel have signed a contract for interruptible sales of gas to Dolphinus Holdings Ltd. of Egypt.

Partners in Tamar natural gas field offshore Israel have signed a contract for interruptible sales of gas to Dolphinus Holdings Ltd. of Egypt.

Delek Group, a Tamar interest holder, said the Tamar partners will offer Dolphinus at least 177 bcf of gas in the first 3 years of the contract, subject to a rate limit of 250 MMcfd and pipeline capacity constraints.

Dolphinus will take delivery of the gas at Ashkelon, which is connected to Egypt by a pipeline operated by East Mediterranean Gas Co. The Tamar partners must secure an export permit for the sales.

Tamar gas moves ashore by pipeline to Ashdod, where it enters the Israel Gas Lines Ltd. system.

Delek said the contract links the gas price to the price of Brent crude oil and includes a minimum level. It described the buyer as a consortium of Egyptian industrial and commercial gas users not owned by the government.

According to Noble Energy, operator, Tamar has capacity exceeding 1 bcfd and has produced an average 750 MMcfd since start-up in March 2013. It plans to expand capacity to 1.5 bcfd next year.

Noble last year signed a contract to deliver a total of 66 bcf of Tamar gas over 15 years to a group in Jordan beginning in 2016 (OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2014).

Tamar interests are Nobel Energy Mediterranean Ltd., 36%; Isramco Negev 2 LP, 28.75%; Avner Oil Cxploration LP and Delek Drilling LP, 15.625% each; and Dor Gas Exploration LP, 4%.