Isramco Negev 2 Ltd. Partnership (ISRA.L.TV), a partner in Israel 's large offshore Tamar natural gas field, said Wednesday it has agreed to a $500 million loan from Deutsche Bank AG (DB).

The loan will allow Isramco to pay back bridge loans to its other creditors as well as fund the development of Tamar.

Isramco owns 28.7% of Tamar, which is estimated to contain about 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and is scheduled to begin production later this year.

The gas from the field is likely to boost Israel 's gross domestic product growth in 2013 by at least 1 percentage point, with the overall economy expected to expand 3.8%, the Bank of Israel said.

Most of the gas will be for domestic supply contracts, but government officials have said they are willing to sell it abroad, including to neighboring Jordan .

It isn't clear however if other Middle Eastern countries, or companies based there, would buy the gas, due to the region's troubled politics.

At 1116 GMT, shares of Isramco were up 0.007 shekels, or 1.13%, at ILS0.625 ($0.17), in a higher Tel Aviv market.

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