By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Cabinet ministers from the
Shell had been struggling to find a buyer for its 55 percentstake in the Gaza Marine field, which it took over during itsacquisition of BG Group in 2016.
A Shell spokesman said: “We confirm we have been indiscussions with various parties about the future of the GazaMarine project. As of now, Shell continues to holds its equityin the Gaza Marine asset.”
Gaza Marine, located about 30 km (20 miles) off the
Plans to develop the field - estimated to hold over 1trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent of Spain’sconsumption in 2016 - were put off several times over the pastdecade.
The delays were due to internal Palestinian rivalry andconflict with
With Shell's exit, the Palestine Investment Fund, asovereign wealth fund, remains the sole stakeholder.
A Palestinian official familiar with the matter, who spokeon condition of anonymity, told Reuters that once a potentialbuyer is located they will discuss options of how much controlof the project could be acquired.(Additional reporting by Ali SawaftaWriting by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Adrian Croft)