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Israeli Companies Find Huge New Natural Gas Field

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An oil rig in the Tamar natural gas field off the Israeli coast

“Isramco” and “Modiin Energy” companies, announced on Sunday that they found a gas reserve in the Mediterranean Sea the size of the “Tamar” drilling field. The companies who partner in searching for oil and gas reserves in Israel publicized on Sunday morning that they have found gas reserves that equal the size of the offshore “Tamar” Gas field. The reserves are  located in the drilling license regions of East and West Daniel.

According to an outside prospective agency that hails from the Netherlands “NSAI”, the twin gas field has the potential to drill up to 8.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF), making it quite larger than the “Tamar” field. It will require several drilling points, as opposed to the single drilling point needed for the “Tamar” field.

The chances of taking full advantage of this discovery are estimated at 30 to 40%. Currently the assets of the field are divided among four owners. “Modiin Energy” owns a 15 percent share, “Isramco” owns a 75 percent share, “ATP” and “AGR” groups own five percent each of the additional ten percent.

“We are excited at the potential that has been revealed for finding gas in the Daniel East and Daniel West licenses. This potential is of a significant size, which, if realized, could represent competition for existing reserves, and improve the country’s energy security,” said Ron Maor, CEO of Modiin Energy.

“Together with our partners we will carry out drilling to test the potential prospects as soon as possible. We hope that the State of Israel will encourage further activity in the potential gas reserves in the Daniel East and Daniel West fields,” he said.

Sunday’s announcement comes in the wake of last month’s signing by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a controversial deal with gas companies developing the Leviathan and Tamar fields, according to a Times of Israel report.

The report also indicated that Netanyahu was only able to sign the deal by invoking a never-before-used clause to override an antitrust ruling against the agreement by declaring it an issue of national security.

The deal paved the way for a consortium comprising Noble Energy and the Delek Group to begin work on extracting gas from the massive Leviathan field, which is thought to contain some 22 trillion cubic feet of gas, and is expected to transform the country into a regional energy powerhouse.

Many activists and politicians fought the deal, which they say is deeply flawed and will create a monopoly in the gas market that will lead to higher prices for Israeli consumers.

Activists reacted soberly to the new find announced Sunday, saying that “although the news of the potential of the gas reserves is great, it is still far from being termed a ‘discovery.’”

The report “is based on data from seismic surveys only and not actual drilling results,” according to a statement from an umbrella organization representing several groups of activists. The statement urged “the public, investors and decision makers to await the outcome of these newly discovered wells, and to avoid hasty decisions before the facts are clarified.”

Shlomo Piotrokovsky

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