Shell to Mull Buying Israeli, Cyprus Gas for Egypt Plant

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is seeking creative solutions to bring gas from Israel and Cyprus to market, a step that could help turn the Mediterranean region into a major gas-producing hub.

Shell is in talks to buy natural gas from Israel's Leviathan field, combine it with output from Cyprus's Aphrodite field, in which it owns a 35 percent stake, and pump it to a liquefied natural gas plant in Egypt, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Talks are at an early stage and some of Aphrodite's gas could be sold locally, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

Combining output from the fields, which share some major investors, could potentially improve the economics of the projects. Leviathan's partners, led by Noble Energy Inc. and Delek Drilling LP, are looking at various shipment options as they face an estimated development cost of $3.75 billion.The partners would have to seek further funds to increase the field's capacity if they do the deal with Shell, one of the people said.

Israeli and Cypriot gas finds, together with the giant Zohr field off Egypt and reservoirs off Lebanon, could create a center of gas production right on Europe's doorstep. While that has given a handful of nations access to vast resources, they're still trying to figure out the best way to use the fuel in a region fraught with political enmity.

Source: www.bloomberg.com