Partners in a major Israeli offshore gas project, Leviathan, announced plans plans to invest $568 million in the construction of a third pipeline, Reuters reported.

According to the announcement, the planned pipeline is expected to enhance natural gas production and facilitate increased exports from the hydrocarbon-rich sea field.

Leviathan is a deep-sea field launched at the close of 2019. The field boasts substantial hydrocarbon reserves and generates an annual output of 12 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, sold to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

The project aims to expand its capacity to cater to significant gas volumes demanded by Europe, as the continent aims to reduce reliance on Russian energy sources.

The prospect pipeline will link the offshore well to a production facility situated about 10 km off the Mediterranean coastline of Israel, with its operation scheduled to commence in the second half of 2025. This coincides with a surge in Leviathan's production to 14 bcm per year, as confirmed by the consortium behind the project.

Leviathan consortium includes Chevron, the operator, and Israeli firms NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies, working together to deliver the project.

Yossi Abu, CEO of NewMed, highlighted the significance of expanding production capacity and future liquefaction capabilities through a designated facility, expressing confidence in supplying more natural gas to local, regional, and, soon, global markets.

The Leviathan consortium envisions long-term production reaching approximately 21 bcm per year. To realize this vision, the group has announced plans for a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off the coast of Israel. The terminal is projected to hold an annual LNG capacity of 4.6 million tons (equivalent to 6.5 bcm), with a significant potential for substantial growth and market penetration.

According to the CEO of Ratio, Yigal Landau, the record demand witnessed last year continued into the first quarter. Yigal Landau also emphasized the possibility of expanding the export network in Jordan, indicating an ongoing exploration of upgrading transmission infrastructures in Jordan to facilitate the transportation of additional gas quantities to markets in Jordan and Egypt.

Following the announcement, Ratio shares experienced a 1.4% increase in Tel Aviv stock exchange trading, while NewMed shares rose by 0.7%.