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Israel: Joint gas field development facing sell-offs

By  |  January 6, 2014

The joint development of an offshore oil field in Israel, headed by Israeli and US companies, is facing forced divestitures to appease concerns by local competition authorities.

The Israel Antitrust Authority is reportedly negotiating with Delek Drilling for possible stake sales as it establishes the Leviathan natural gas field. The firm, in a separate interview, confirmed it was still in discussions to finalize its $1.25 billion acquisition of the Leviathan buyout with current owner Woodside Petroleum, based in Australia. The deal was first announced late 2012.

Leviathan is the globe’s largest offshore oil find in the last decade, reports say.

Delek Drilling is in a joint venture with Avner Oil Exploration and Noble Energy to develop the field. Delek and Avner are both subsidiaries of Delek Group.

Full Content: The Sydney Morning Herald

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