Noble Energy gets the go ahead for Leviathan natural gas project

Houston-based Noble Energy has received the green light from the Israeli government to go ahead with its $5bn Leviathan project in the Mediterranean Sea.

The natural gas project involves a subsea system that connects production wells to a fixed platform located offshore with tie-in onshore in the northern part of Israel.

Approval had been held up for a long time by regulatory hurdles and political disagreements in Israel, mainly about whether Noble would have too big a hold on the country’s natural gas market.

The Leviathan field was discovered in 2010. It is estimated to contain over 22 trillion cubic feet of gas.