Delek Energy Systems Ltd. (DLEN.TV)
said Monday that it will loan its subsidiaries $36 million for the continued
development of the Tamar natural gas field offshore from Israel.
Delek Energy said it will provide the loan to its units Delek Drilling L.P.
(DEDR.L.TV), and Avner Oil Exploration L.P. (AVNR.L.TV) for three months and
charge an annual interest rate equal to the London interbank overnight rate.
Delek Drilling and Avner each own a 15.6% stake in the Tamar natural gas field,
which is scheduled to begin production next year.
Both investors and government officials are eager to begin production at Tamar,
which contains about 9 trillion cubic feet of gas, since Israel's gas supply
from Egypt has become unreliable.
Over the last year there have been dozens of attacks on the pipeline in Egypt's
Sinai region that carries gas to Israel following the public uprising against
former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The halt in Egyptian gas deliveries has caused Israel's electricity prices to
rise significantly as power companies have had to rely on more expensive forms
of energy.
Delek Energy owns 62% of Delek Drilling and 48% of Avner.
At 1013 GMT, shares of Delek Energy were up 26 shekels, or 1.97%, at
ILS1,344.00; shares of Delek Drilling were up ILS0.20, or 1.73%, at ILS11.77;
and shares of Avner were up ILS0.013, or 1.47%, at ILS2.14, in a higher Tel
Aviv market.