The partners in the Dolphin 1 field have officially announced the discovery of gas during the recent drilling that they completed.
The Dolphin 1 well has always been considered the most promising of the three geologic structures in the Hanna license. The gas bearing strata are located in a structure known as the Tamar sands at a depth of 4,440 meters in waters 1,560 meters deep. The prospect is located 110 kilometers west of Haifa.
Estimates are that there is 0.55 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in the field making it a relatively small find comparable in size to the Mary B well, which has been providing gas as part of the Yam Tethys field since 2004.
The Dolphin partners are Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) (39.66%), Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) (22.67%) and Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) (22.67%) and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) (15%). These are the same partners as the huge Leviathan field find of at least 16 TCF.
The Dolphin 1 well drilling was undertaken in two stages. The first stage, drilled by the Sedco Express rig, was carried out in September. The drilling of the second stage by the Pride Ensco 5006 rig (formerly Pride North America rig) began in October, and was completed earlier this month.
The data collected from the drilling has been conveyed to oil and gas consulting assessors Netherland Sewell & Associates who will provide more accurate statistics about the find in a few months.
A decision by the Dolphin partners whether the find is commercial depends on several still unknown factors, including the results of production tests and the cost of development. The cost of the well, excluding production tests, is about $51 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 18, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011