The massive Leviathan gas field was discovered in Israel’s offshore Levant Basin over six years ago, and while it theoretically puts Israel on the global energy map for the first time and could change the geopolitical dynamics of the entire Middle East, the Israelis themselves seem to be doing everything in their power to keep it from coming online. Its owners--U.S.-based Noble Energy and Israeli partner Delek Group--along with their shareholders are probably wondering if gas is ever going to come out of this giant of giants.At stake is a massive gas field worth $5-$6 billion and believed to contain some 22 trillion cubic feet of gas, slated to begin extraction by 2019.
The latest disappointment came this weekend when the Israeli High Court dealt another serious blow to the project with a ruling that promises to cancel the offshore gas extraction deal entirely in a year if a clause in the natural gas rules isn't changed or voided.