Chevron Mediterranean will seek to decommission the Yam Tethys platform offshore Israel in 2028.

However, the timing and apportioning of costs will be subject to agreements between the partners in the Yam Tethys and offshore Tamar project, co-venturer NewMed Energy said in an update.

The platform started receiving gas from the Mari B Field in 2004, later supplemented by gas from the smaller Noa and Pinnacles satellite fields, both tied back to the main facilities at Mari B.

NewMed also revealed that on July 8 Chevron received a letter from Israel Natural Gas Lines that hot commissioning tests had finished on a newly laid subsea pipeline in the subsea transmission section between Ashdod and Ashkelon, and that gas was now flowing through the new line.

In September, acquisition is due to begin of a combined 2D/3D seismic survey over Israel’s offshore Zone I licenses blocks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11. The three-month survey has an overall cost of about $22 million.

Finally, NewMed noted that the fifth bid round for exploration of natural gas in Israel's EEZ, published on July 6, offers five exploration zones covering an overall area of about 7,100 sq km.

The bidding period starts on Sept. 15 and ends on Nov. 11, with the winners and license awards due to be declared between December and first-quarter 2027.