Delek eyes offshore Moroccan opportunities
Israeli energy group Delek Drilling is seeking exploration opportunities offshore Morocco and is changing its name to NewMed Energy, the company announced on February 22. The privately-owned firm also said it believed there was justification to significantly expand the production capacity of the Leviathan gas field off Israel.
NewMed said it was in an "advanced process for the receipt of exploration licences" in Morocco – a country it views as having "tremendous potential in both geological and commercial terms." The licences are in both the Mediterranean sea and the North Atlantic ocean.
Through its name change, NewMed is following on the heels of many other oil and gas producers that have rebranded themselves in recent years, typically to remove any references to fossil fuels and stress their commitment to lower-carbon energy. NewMed also said it would be launching an alternative energy vision, and intended to invest in blue hydrogen, the capture of carbon and renewables.
NewMed's flagship asset is the Leviathan field off the coast of Israel, which can produce up to 12bn m3/year of gas for use in Israel and for exports to Egypt and Jordan. Demand growth in the region justifies an increase in this capacity to 21bn m3/yr, the company said, noting that the expansion project would focus on expanding transmission infrastructure, as well as the construction of facilities for LNG production.
“Our launch of NewMed Energy today is the pinnacle of a fundamental, deep and strategic process," NewMed CEO Yossi Abu said in a statement.
Delek will seek both to maximise the value of its existing assets, including at Leviathan and the yet-to-be-developed Aphrodite field off Cyprus, and to become a leader in alternative energies.