The Ministry of National Infrastructures last night ordered the Israel Oil Co. to develop the Or gas structure, which is part of the Med Yavne license. The company was instructed to present a drilling and development plan by August 1. Med Yavne is adjacent to the Noa and Yam Tethys fields off the coast of southern Israel.
According to estimates, there are about 1 billion cubic meters of gas in the r structure. This follows a similar order earlier this week to Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) to develop the Noa field, which contains an estimated 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The Israel Oil Co. was granted the Med Yavne license in 2000.
The instruction by the Petroleum Supervisor at the Ministry of National Infrastructures to open the Or and Noa fields follows fears of a natural gas shortage in Israel with the Yam Tethys field likely to run out before the Tamar field comes on stream in 2013. At the same time, the situation in Egypt leaves a question mark over future supplies from there.
The main partners in the Or field are Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq:ISRL; TASE:ISRA.L) (49.86%), Israel Oil. Co. (14.77%) and Ratio Oil Exploration Ltd. (TASE:RATI.L) (12.3%).
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 15, 2011
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