Azerbaijan's SOCAR officially closed deal to buy 10% of Israel's Tamar gas project - media

BAKU. June 27 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) has officially closed a deal to buy a 10% stake in Tamar, one of Israel's biggest gas fields, the Israeli Globes publication reported.

"The deal, which will give SOCAR a 10% stake in Tamar, is worth an estimated $1.25 billion," it said.

SOCAR bought stakes in two companies, Union Energy and Tamar Petroleum, controlled by Israeli billionaire Aaron G. Frenkel.

SOCAR will hold 7% of Tamar through a 48.3% holding in Union Energy and 3% thanks to a 17.9% stake in the Tel Aviv-listed Tamar Petroleum.

Tamar, 90 km from Haifa, is one of the biggest gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea. It was discovered in January 2009 and is one of Israel's main sources of gas. According to an independent reserves assessment by NSAI, the field has estimated natural gas reserves of approximately 13.73 trillion cubic feet (389 billion cubic meters).

According to SOCAR data, the Tamar field started producing gas in 2013 from six subsea production wells. The current agreement to develop the field is valid until 2038 and can be extended until 2047. Annual gas production is 10 billion cubic meters. Plans to expand the project and drill new wells over the next three years should increase annual production to approximately 15 bcm per year. Recoverable gas reserves are 286 bcm.

SOCAR signed an agreement with Union Energy, wholly controlled by Aaron Frenkel, to acquire a 10% stake in the Tamar project on January 31, 2025. Tamar, one of the biggest gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea, is 90 km from Haifa.

According to open source data as of March 2024, project shareholders are: Chevron Corp. (USA) - 25%, Isramco (Israel) - 28.75%, Mubadala Energy (UAE) - 11%, Union Energy - 11%, Tamar Petroleum (Israel) - 16.75%, Dor Gas (Israel) - 4% and Everest (Israel) - 3.5%.