Noble Energy Inc. signed 10-year agreements for the sale of natural gas from the Leviathan and Tamar offshore gas fields of Israel to supply industrial and petrochemical customers and to support future power generation in Egypt.

Both agreements with the Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings Ltd. would each provide for total contract quantities of 1.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to a Feb. 19 news release. Sales volumes under the deal for the Leviathan field would start at about 350 MMcf/d at the startup of the Leviathan project at the end of 2019, while sales volumes under the Tamar agreement are expected to begin at an interruptible rate of up to 350 MMcf/d, depending on Israel and Jordan customer obligations. Noble Energy may convert the interruptible quantity from the Tamar agreement to a firm-basis with a take or pay commitment.

"At Leviathan, we have executed agreements totaling nearly 900 MMcf/d and are closing in on our targeted sales volume amount of 1 Bcf/d," said Gary Willingham, Noble Energy's executive vice president for operations. "For Tamar, we now have a contract to sell any excess gas beyond current customer needs in Israel and Jordan to Egypt."

Noble Energy operates the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields with a 39.7% working interest and 32.5% working interest, respectively, with a divestment of 7.5% of working interest in the Tamar field that is scheduled to close in the first quarter, which would reduce the company's interest in the field to 25%.