Gazprom Signs Deal to Market Israel's Tamar LNG Project

By James Marson

MOSCOW--OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) has signed a deal to market liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Tamar floating LNG project in Israel, the Russian gas giant said in a statement Tuesday.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading Switzerland signed heads of agreement for exclusive offtake from the Tamar project for 20 years with Levant LNG Marketing Corporation.

The state-controlled energy firm is increasing its involvement in LNG as demand for gas delivered by pipeline to Europe, its most lucrative market, declines. In recent years large amounts of natural gas have been discovered off Israel's coast. The Tamar field contains around 9 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The Tamar LNG project, based on the Tamar and Dalit offshore fields, is scheduled for commissioning in 2017 and expected to produce 3 million metric tons of LNG per year.

Write to James Marson at james.marson@dowjones.com

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