Energean plans to build its own production system in Israeli gas fields

Greek company Energean Oil & Gas plans to build its own production system in the Eastern Mediterranean at a cost of up to $1.5 billion to tap two Israeli offshore gas fields, the group's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Greece's only oil producer is also looking to bring a financial partner into the project to develop the Tanin and Karish fields, which are situated in deep waters around 100 kilometers off Israel's coast and have combined gas reserves estimated at 2.4 trillion cubic feet.

Energean bought Karish and Tanin last August for $148 million from US-Israeli partners Delek Group and Noble Energy, who are developing two much larger fields nearby and were required by Israel to sell off other discoveries in an effort to open up the sector to competition.

Rather than piggyback off that group's infrastructure, an idea previously floated by some experts,...