Design work completed for giant Israeli gas field, Leviathan

Wood Group, which provides services for energy producers and explorers, said it's completed design work for the giant Leviathan gas field offshore Israel.

The company said it completed its seven month front end engineering design work for the Leviathan gas field. The total contract value for work for developer Noble Energy is around $95 million.

Noble and its other partners reached a final investment decision in February. The Leviathan partnership envisions spending about $3.75 billion on development of the first phase of the field, which outlines a production capacity of about 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. The piping of gas to its slated destinations is expected by the end of 2019.

Wood Group said its planned 30,000 ton fixed production platform is configured to accommodate 2.1 billion cubic feet per day in future production from Leviathan. The company already has experience offshore Israel with developments for the nearby Tamar gas production platform and Chief Executive Robin Watson said in a statement that finishing the plans for Leviathan highlight Wood Group's "proven ability to deliver safe, cost-effective and efficient solutions."

A good portion of the gas reserves in Leviathan are designated for exports. A Jordanian power company agreed last year to a take-or-pay scheme for gas from Leviathan. That agreement was worth an estimated $10 billion and was the first such agreement for the field.

In early December, the Leviathan partners said they reached an agreement with Dalia, the largest private power plant in Israel, to supply fuel for up to 20 years once production at the field begins

Wood Group profits for full-year 2016 were 62 percent lower than the previous year. Looking forward to a 2017 market on the road to recovery, Watson said challenges remain and caution prevailed for near-term conditions on the oil and gas market.