Delek Group and its partners at the Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel  said they’re planning more drilling with the aim of starting production in 2019, United Press International reported.

The partners announced plans for appraisal and production operations in the region, with the objective of carrying out an appraisal and production well at Leviathan-5 in the area of the Leviathan North I/15 lease, according to Your Oil and Gas News. Delek Group President and CEO, Asaf Bartfeld, said the appraisal is part of a series of steps aimed at uncorking the field’s full potential. Furthermore, Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd., which operates the field, recommended to the drilling of an additional appraisal well, which will become part of the series of production wells in the Leviathan Field, as part of the updated development plan for the area.

Bartfeld added: “These steps, as well as authorizing the Delek Group partnerships to take the final investment decision for development of the field, will allow us to comply with the timetables to produce natural gas from Leviathan by the end of 2019.”

The Leviathan partnership approved a development plan mid December that calls for production of around 1.2bcf/d of natural gas through an investment of between $3.5b and $4b. The plan approval came despite the Israeli government stating that the field could support production of about 20% less than Delek and its partners had estimated, based on a review from independent analysts.