Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking that Eni’s 2015 Zohr discovery in the Egyptian deepwater was the Mediterranean’s largest ever gas find. But, with proved and probable reserves of 21.4tcf, US independent Noble’s 2010 Leviathan find 130km to the east in Israeli waters ties with Zohr for top spot.

Finally, more than nine years after the field’s discovery, Leviathan is set for imminent start up. “In two weeks’ time gas will flow from Leviathan to Israel and to our neighboring countries,” Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Israel Energy & Business Convention in Tel Aviv on 2 December, referencing export deals to Jordan and Egypt. (CONTINUED - 2059 WORDS)