Gazprom has lost interest in Leviafan deposit in Israel

​Gazprom has lost interest in the development of the Leviafan deposit at the shelf of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea.

A representative of the company said that Gazprom refused from the development of other projects in Israel. The reasons are not mentioned.

Gazprom was negotiating on the purchase of 30% in the project of the consortium of companies-operators which comprises Delek Drilling, Avner Oil & Gas и Ratio and Noble Energy. Total, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron
were also interested in the project, however, Gazprom was ready to pay more than others.

The head of the LNG department of ICIS Heren, R. Kazmin, says that the decision of Gazprom seems logical as the Government of Israel, according to the existing law, might redirect the already contracted gas by foreign buyers to the domestic market in case of necessity. The expert said that in this case the prices are set by the Government. He added that the reason of Gazprom’s refusal to participate in the project of Woodside Petroleum Ltd (Australia) in 2014.