Leviathan drilling site
Photo: Albatross
Leviathan drilling set to begin
Gas partnership publishes updated estimates for each of three strata, amounting to 600 million barrels of oil
The Leviathan partnership reported Sunday morning that drilling at the Leviathan 1 site is about to begin after the arrival of the Homer Ferrington rig, which is to deepen the well to the lower strata in search of oil.
This is a downward adjusted estimate of the three billion barrels estimated by the partners; however, there is also a high probability of finding additional natural gas and the partners' best estimate from all three strata is 4.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas which is expected to increase the field's gas reserves to 21.2 BCM.
The main target strata are mid-Cretaceous and lower Cretaceous where the partners expect to discover oil once the Leviathan 1 drilling, which has not yet begun, is completed. Estimates for all three strata amount to 600 million barrels of oil.
Stepping on Gas
Shoham Levy, Calcalist
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The drilling is scheduled for a three-month period and while gal and oil investors are waiting out the nerve-racking period until the Leviathan 1 findings, the partnership is publishing information on the prospects of finding more gas and oil in the reserve.
The Leviathan partnership comprises Delek Drilling (22.67%); Avner oil and Gas (22.67%); Ratio Oil Exploration (15%) and Noble Energy (39.66%). The Leviathan field is located in the Rachel license some 135 km off the coast of Haifa.
The Petroleum Supervisor rejected Delek Drilling and Avner's request to pledge their share of Leviathan as security for a loan to develop the Noa North and Tamar fields.
Last month, Calcalist revealed that Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu visited China to present to CNOOC the Delek Group's gas portfolio which includes Leviathan (22.67%); Tethys Sea (about 23%) and Tamar (15.625%). The Chinese invited Abu for another round of talks three weeks ago which led to a reciprocal visit.
Click here to read this report in Hebrew
