Israel gas stocks drop as Egypt find casts shadow on Leviathan

Delek Group Ltd. slumped Monday after the Mediterranean’s biggest natural gas field was discovered off the coast of Egypt, casting doubt on export prospects for Israel’s own offshore find.

Delek Group stock plunged 14 percent, the most since Dec. 23, at 10:23 a.m. in Tel Aviv. Its oil and gas exploring units Delek Drilling LP and Avner Oil Exploration LLP dropped 12 percent, also the most since Dec. 23. Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP, another partner in Leviathan, Israel’s largest offshore field, fell 16 percent. The TA-Oil & Gas index slid 8.8 percent.

Eni SpA discovered a “super giant” natural gas field offshore Egypt that the Italian energy explorer said is the largest find in the Mediterranean Sea, the company said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday. The deep-water deposit may hold 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to contribute to Egyptian supply for decades, Eni said. Companies including Noble Energy Inc., which are developing gas fields in Israel, have been planning to export the fuel to Egypt and the region, including Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

“This is not positive, it is still early to say but there may be a scenario in which the Egyptian field may be developed before Leviathan,” said David Shrem, an energy analyst at Sphera Funds Management Ltd., which manages about $1 billion in assets. “The longer we wait, the bigger the threats. This is a wake-up call for the government.”

Development of the Leviathan field, estimated by Delek to have 21.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and earmarked for export, has stalled as the Israeli government has been formulating its energy policy. The plan, pending approval by parliament and the economy minister, would allow Israel to export as much as 1.5 billion cubic feet a day by 2025, Barclays Plc has said. That’s more than half of Norway’s average shipments to the U.K.

“The drops in the shares emphasize the heavy price paid to bureaucracy and disorderly decision-making,” Idan Azoulay, a portfolio manager at Epsilon Investment House Ltd. in Tel Aviv, said by e-mail. “There could be long-lasting effects on the local macro picture, starting from an impact on the shekel, inflation and the profitability of the manufacturing sector. This is bad news for the economy.”

Source: Bloomberg