7 years on, Tamar natural gas partners make 1st payment to national wealth fund - THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

19 January 2021, 6:11 pm
Sue Surkes 

More than seven years after it started commercial production, the Tamar Partnership has paid its first installment into a sovereign wealth fund aimed at ensuring that some of the profits of Israel’s natural gas bonanza are spent on strategic projects for the nation’s benefit.

The partnership transferred some $15 million at the end of last year, the business daily Calcalist reported Monday, with a further $300 million expected to be paid during 2021, in monthly installments of $25 million.

Now that the payments have started, any future deals the partnership signs will only increase the amount that must be paid into the wealth fund.

On the basis of the idea that Israel’s natural resources belong to all of its citizens, all of the gas companies drilling off the country’s Mediterranean coast are supposed to pay the state 62% on their profits. This is called the government take and includes the wealth fund levy, as well as royalties and corporate taxes, which have been paid all along.

Israel-Egypt gas pipeline deal seen imminent - REUTERS

NOVEMBER 3, 2019 / 11:32 AM
Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A deal that would transfer control of a natural gas pipeline between Israel and Egypt is expected to be closed in the next few days, the companies said on Sunday.

Texas-based Noble Energy (NBL.N), Israel’s Delek Drilling (DEDRp.TA) and Egyptian East Gas Co have partnered in a venture called EMED, which last year agreed to buy a 39% stake in the subsea EMG pipeline for $518 million that will carry Israeli gas exports to Egypt.

In a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv, Delek said the shares have already been transferred to the buyers while the funds are currently being held in a trust. It noted that no closing conditions remained.

“Upon the transfer of the full amount of the consideration to the sellers, which is expected to be performed in the coming days, the EMG transaction will be closed in practice,” Delek said.

Israel Electric set to sign new Tamar gas deal - GLOBES

23 Sep, 2019 18:26
Amiram Barkat

The gas price in the new agreement has been lowered to $4.30 per BTU for 18 months.

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is close to signing a new agreement with the owners of rights in the Tamar natural gas reservoir. The gas price in the new agreement has been lowered to $4.30 per BTU for 18 months, after which the agreement with IEC will be renegotiated. In effect, the agreement renews the competition between the Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs, because it enables IEC to buy gas from Tamar at a lower price than it obtained from Leviathan. The agreement is also an achievement for the Public Utilities Authority (Electricity), because it improves the terms in comparison with the previous agreement between IEC and Tamar, which the Public Utilities Authority refused to approve.

Leviathan won out over Tamar in a tender published by IEC for the purchase of variable quantities of gas beyond the minimum that it is obligated to buy from Tamar. The holders of rights in the two reservoirs offer the same price - $4.79 per BTU, but IEC management preferred Leviathan to Tamar.

IEC seeks Tamar, Leviathan bids for NIS 2b gas deal - GLOBES

3 Dec, 2018 14:19

Sonia Gorodeisky

Israel Electric Corp. is hoping to cut the price of gas by generating competition between the two partnerships.

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) has contacted both the Tamar and Leviathan partnerships, both partly owned by Yitzhak Tshuva, to provide bids to supply 2 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas annually over two years, Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this morning. At current gas prices the deal has an estimate value of about NIS 2 billion.

According to the report, the gas is to be supplied between October 2019 and the end of June 2021. This time scale extends from when gas is due to begin flowing from the Leviathan reservoir to the start of supply of gas from the Karish reservoir, controlled by Greek company Energean Oil & Gas plc (LSE: ENOG; TASE: ENOG).

The aim of IEC is to try and cut the price of natural gas used in the production of electricity but a competitive process to procure amounts of gas above its commitment to the Tamar partners. At the same time, IEC is anyway trying to lower the price of gas in its agreement with the Tamar partners, which amounts to $6 per thermal unit, 33% over the price closed recently with Energean by private electricity producers.

Partners sign deal to export $15 billion in Israeli natgas to Egypt - REUTERS

FEBRUARY 19, 2018 / 2:42 PMReporting by Tova Cohen and Ari Rabinovitch

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - The partners in Israel’s Tamar and Leviathan natural gas fields have signed 10-year agreements to sell $15 billion worth of natural gas to Egyptian company Dolphinus, Delek Drilling said on Monday.

Various possibilities for transmission of the gas to Egypt are being examined, including use of the East Mediterranean Gas pipeline. Delek Drilling and its partner, Texas-based Noble Energy, intend to begin negotiations with EMG for the use of the pipeline to Egypt, Delek said in a statement.

Tamar partners say gas shutdown will not have major sales impact - REUTERS

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017 / 10:03 AMReporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Jason Neely

JERUSALEM, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A shutdown at Israel’s Tamar natural gas field caused by a cracked pipe is not expected to have a significant impact on quarterly revenue, and the problem will likely be resolved this week, the partners behind the project said on Sunday.

The stoppage, however, will take a toll on the country’s power stations, which have been forced to turn to more expensive fuels to generate electricity.

Partners in Israel's Tamar raise gas reserves estimate by 13 pct - REUTERS

Sun Jul 2, 2017 | 6:28am EDTReporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen

The partners in Israel's Tamar natural gas project said on Sunday the offshore field held 13 percent more gas than previously estimated.

An updated resource report indicated proved and probable reserves of 11.2 trillion cubic feet (318 billion cubic meters) of gas and 14.6 million barrels of condensate, up from 10 tcf of gas and 13 million barrels of condensate.

"The results of the well and the production data from the reservoir ... enabled the update of the reservoir model and the production forecasts," project stakeholder Delek Drilling said in a statement.

Tamar, which began production in 2013, is the primary natural gas supply for Israel and also exports to Jordan. So far it has produced more than 1 tcf.

Israel Electric wants to reopen Tamar gas deal - GLOBES

28 Jun, 2017 15:58
Nati Yefet

The company is paying $6 per MMbtu compared with $4.70 paid by private electricity producers.

The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) board of directors has ordered the company's management to negotiate the reopening of the gas agreement with the Tamar natural gas reservoir partners. IEC is paying nearly $6 per MMbtu, compared with $4.70 paid by the private electricity producers. The price is expected to continue rising, because it is linked to the US consumer price index.

Comptroller: Tamar gas agreement cost IEC $2b too much - GLOBES

17 May, 2017 13:43 

Nati Yefet

The State Comptroller has found costly faults in Israel Electric Corp.'s natural gas agreement with the Tamar partners.

Faults in the process of formulating an agreement between Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) and the Tamar natural gas reservoir partners caused $820 million-1.5 billion in excess costs that could have been foreseen. This was the main conclusion of the State Comptroller's report on the process of signing the agreement. It now appears that the damage is actually $2-2.3 billion. The audit was conducted in September 2015-March 2016, following which supplementary checks were made by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources Israel Natural Gas Authority.

Delek: Talks with Union Fenosa continue - GLOBES

19 Dec, 2016 15:39
Nati Yefet

Delek has rubbished an Egyptian media report that UFG's partner ENI, instead of the Tamar partners, will export gas to the Al Shorouk liquefaction plant.

Delek Group Ltd's. (TASE: DLEKG) natural gas exploration and production units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) issued a clarification this morning, that talks continue with Union Fenosa Group (UFG) which co-owns a gas liquefaction plant in Egypt together with Italian company ENI. This clarification follows a report in Egypt's Daily News website that ENI, which owns 60% of the Al-Shorouk gas field (TEKMOR Note: Zohr field in the Shorouk concession, Rosneft 30%, BP 10%), is to lay a pipeline to the liquefaction facility and export 8.2 BCM of gas. The report would apparently undermine the possibility that the Tamar partners would export gas to the liquefaction facility.

The announcement said that the report in their 2015 annual statement about the signing of a binding letter of intent (LOI) on gas exports to the liquefaction facility, is still valid, and talks between the parties continue. "As for the media reports, the partners seek to clarify that contrary to the implications of these reports, and following clarifications received from UFG, the parties continue with ongoing negotiations aimed at reaching a binding agreement for natural gas supply from the Tamar project to UFG's existing liquefaction facilities in Egypt."

Israel Tamar faces $13 billion class action - NATURAL GAS WORLD

November 24th, 2016, 8:55amYa'acov Zalel

An Israeli district court rejected November 23 a petition by the Tamar Partnership to dismiss a class action law suit alleging monopolistic pricing of natural gas in Israel. The district court rejected the request in a preliminary hearing. Now the court will have to hold a hearing whether to approve the class action before it goes to a full trial. The process can be quite lengthy as the class action was filed almost two and half years ago and the trial hasn’t started yet.

The plaintiffs estimated that the excess cost for the Israeli customers is NIS 2.5bn ($630 mn)/yr and asked the court to order Tamar partners to compensate the customers and reduce prices. The estimated excess cost for the duration of the contract was estimated at NIS 26.8-43.7 bn.

Amendment to Agreement for the Supply of Natural Gas between the Tamar Partners and the Israel Electricity Corporation - Update - DELEK GROUP

Tel Aviv, November 21, 2016

Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG, US ADR: DGRLY) (“the Company”) announces that pursuant to what was stated in section 7.12.4(A)(3) of the Company's Annual Report to December 31, 2015 (as amended) that was published on May 30, 2016 (ref. no. 2016-01-037758), and the Company's Immediate Report dated September 4, 2016 (ref. no. 2016-01-116773) concerning signature of the amendment to the agreement between the Tamar project partners, including Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership, ("the Tamar Partners") and the Israel Electricity Corporation Ltd ("IEC") concerning exercise of the option to increase the amounts of gas that the IEC will require, provided below is an Immediate Report published by each of Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership (jointly "the Partnerships"), concerning receipt of approval for the agreement amendment from the financing bodies of the Tamar Partners.

Spanish energy giant seeks to accelerate Tamar natural gas deal - ISRAEL HAYOM

Tuesday August 30, 2016

• Union Fenosa Gas is considering expediting its negotiations with the companies controlling Israeli offshore gas field
• If successful, gas will be piped to Spain through Egypt
• Deal requires upward of $1.5 billion investment by Tamar partnership.

Hezi Sternlicht, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

Spanish energy giant Union Fenosa Gas is said to be considering accelerating its negotiations with the Tamar partnership as well as boost the gas quantities included in the deal, the Bloomberg news agency reported Monday.

Record income for Tamar Partnership - NATURAL GAS EUROPE

August 25th, 2016, 9:30amYa'acov Zalel 
The Tamar partnership ended the first six months of 2016 with new production and financial records. It reported production of 4.5 bn m³, up 0.7 bn m³ or 18.4% from the year before and 214,000 barrels of condensate up 36,000 for the period. However, because of slightly lower average gas prices in the Israeli market, revenues and income gains lagged behind the production increase.

Total revenues for the first six months totalled $792mn, up $95mn or 13.6%. The average natural gas price was down 4% at $5.17/mn Btu. Revenues from gas were at $789mn and the rest, about $10mn, were from condensate. Helping was an instruction by the energy ministry to replace 15% of the coal used in power generation with gas. Operational expenses fell by 13.7% to $67mn or 8.4% of the revenues. Combined income before taxes for all four partners was $427mn, up $46mn from the first half of 2015.