Israel oil firm Delek applies to buy UK oilfields

Israel’s Delek Group confirmed yesterday that it had applied to buy Chevron’s oil and gas fields in the North Sea, Reuters reported.

Last week, Reuters said that Delek had been close to reaching a deal to clinch Chevron’s oil and gas fields in the UK’s North Sea; worth about $2 billion.

In a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv, Delek said that it had been carrying out talks to buy Chevron’s oil and gas fields as part of its strategy to widen its international operations. It did not give more details.

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Its talks concentrated on Chevron’s oil and gas fields in the North Sea – Alba, Alder and Britannia –  in addition to a number of satellites.

The Israeli firm said, according to Reuters, it believed if a deal was reached, it could be completed in 2019 and would be financed through bank loans and its own resources.

It also said that the acquisition would mark another step toward its expected public listing.

Earlier this month, the firm acquired Shell’s 22.45 per cent stake in the Caesar-Tonga field in the US Gulf of Mexico for $965 million.