A floating LNG option to tap the giant Leviathan gas field in the deepwater eastern Mediterranean Sea offshore Israel is continuing to be studied, according to recent new project entrant Woodside, with the FEED tender process set to kick off in this quarter.

With pipeline export options to the Middle East also being examined, Woodside says its aim is to first see a Final Investment Decision made on a domestic gas development for the field. The Australian company is looking to finalise its long-discussed farm-in agreement with operator Noble Energy and its field partners for 25% of the Leviathan project next month (see DI, 10 February 2014, page 8).

Regarding the timing of the Leviathan development, Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman gave some insight into the likely way forward. “We expect to be going to FEED on an FLNG project sometime this year,” he indicated. “So the joint venture is in the final phases of preparing for an invitation to tender on that. And so if you roughly say there’s 12 to 15 months of FEED activity you can see that you’ll be into late next year potentially at an FID stage for the first of the exports projects, or at least the FLNG project.”

After obtaining some clarity from the Israeli government over how much of Leviathan gas it was prepared to allow for export, Coleman said, the project partners are examining the export options including pipeline routes. “Now the joint venturers have been working very actively to develop other optionality in the system that we have there. FLNG is part of that and continues to be part of that. That’s a change from when we first started talking to the joint venturers. Originally, we thought it might be an onshore-based facility for LNG but it’s now moved to an offshore facility,” he said.

Several pipeline export options are currently under discussion, he added. “There have been a number of pipeline options that the joint venture has discussed and is discussing with other parties, including pipe to Turkey, pipe to Cyprus and [a] pipe across to Jordan or down to Egypt. So all of those things are in play at the moment.”

He continued: “What I’d say is it’s all moving in parallel, so the first part of it – even though it’s a domestic gas project – the domestic gas project will actually have a floating gas production facility and that facility will have the ability to export gas via pipeline.”

Once the Woodside farm-in to Leviathan completes, operator Noble will hold 30%, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration will each hold 16.94 %, Ratio Oil 11.12% and Woodside 25%.

Leviathan is located in the Rachel and Amit licenses in a water depth of 1,675 m (5,550 ft), with the field estimated to contain up to 19 Tcf of gas.