Israeli firm Delek this week sent two high-ranking officials to Australia to rekindle relations with LNG experts Woodside, as the company looks to raise its share of funds to develop the giant 22 tcf Leviathan gas field offshore Israel.

Woodside was in discussions with Delek and its partner, Houston-based Noble, to purchase a 25% stake in Leviathan earlier this year but that deal fell through in May. This was in part due to Israeli regulatory hurdles but also down to a disagreement with the field’s partners as how best to proceed with development plans: Woodside’s interest was based on LNG but Noble and Delek, in the $6.5bn Phase-1 plans filed with the Israeli authorities last month, plumped for pipelines to Israel and possibly Egypt and Cyprus (MEES, 31 October). (CONTINUED - 353 WORDS)