Another gas & oil reserve field identified west of Tel Aviv

Situated 50 km off Israel’s coast, the Oz find could be a source of about 600 billion barrels of oil.

 

 

A potential new source of hydrocarbons may be sitting just 50 kilometers off the coast of Tel Aviv – with about 2.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas (71 billion cubic meters [BCM]) and 255 million barrels of oil, a new report reveals.

Tel Aviv – Photo: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS

Conducted by international oil and gas consulting firm Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI), the report explores the likelihood of finding gas and oils in the 400-square kilometer Oz license. While best estimates in the report indicate about 2.5 TCF of natural gas and 255 billion barrels of oil, low estimates show as little as 1.1 TCF of gas and 93 barrels of oil, while high estimates show as much as 6.5 TCF of gas and 607 barrels of oil.

“The figures in the report show that the resource is ever better than the estimates that Israel Opportunity made when [the company] first decided to enter the Oz license,” said Roni Helman, chairman of Israel Opportunity, one of several Oz partners. “The Levant basin is rich with gas, and we believe also in oil, which has a huge potential.”

While the Oz license may hold a considerable amount of gas, the quantity still pales in comparison to the large Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs, the former of which is already connected to the Israeli grid and the latter of which is under development. Tamar and Leviathan, both located northwest of Oz, contain about 10 TCF and 19 TCF respectively – or 282 BCM and 535 BCM.

The probability of geologic success in the Oz layers that likely contain mostly gas fall between 23 and 27 percent, while the probability of geologic success for the deeper layers with oil potential fall between 16 and 18 percent, according to the NSAI data.

Israel Opportunity-Energy Resources holds 10 percent of the Oz drilling license, Lapidoth-Heletz holds 41.5 percent, Frendum Investments has a 21.5 percent stake, Coleridge Gas and Oil Exploration Israel owns 12 percent, Placida Investments has 10 percent, and Caspian Drilling Company holds five percent.

“We hope to find additional reservoirs in the Levant basin and thereby help in promoting the energy sector in our area,” Helman said. “However, we must remember that this is a risk-intensive industry that requires professional work, along with patience.”

 

View original Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Potential-gas-oil-reserve-identified-in-Oz-license-block-350566