Leviathan closes first export deal

Joint venture partners in Israel's Leviathan gas field have signed a 20-year contract to sell $US1.2 billion ($A1.3 billion) worth of gas to the Palestine Power Generation Company.

Up to 4.75 billion cubic metres of natural gas will be delivered throughout the course of the deal, marking the first export deal made for Israel's largest natural gas reservoir, which is estimated to contain 537Bcm.

Partners in Leviathan consist of Noble Energy (39.66%), Delek Group subsidiaries Delek Drilling (22.67%) and Avner Oil (22.67%) and Ratio Oil Exploration (15%).

Palestine Power Generation Company plans to build a $300 million power plant at Jenin in the Palestine-controlled West Bank, to be run using Leviathan gas.

US pollution under the microscope

The Associated Press reported that hundreds of complaints concerning water pollution from oil and gas drilling in the US had been confirmed over the past few years, with major differences in how various states reported such problems.

The organisation admits that the confirmed problems represent only a tiny portion of the thousands of oil and gas wells drilled each year throughout the US but says the lack of detail in some state reports may fuel public mistrust.

Canadian energy transport examined

A report commissioned by the Alberta and British Columbia governments to examine the idea of transporting crude oil from the Alberta oil sands to the BC coast has been submitted.

It aims to determine the capability of rail to step into the place of pipelines to manage the transport of energy resources between the two provinces.

The report has come under fire from environmental groups, which say the process is happening without public oversight.

The issue is also contentious in light of recent train accidents, such as one last month in North Dakota in which a train carrying crude oil exploded.