Following the final investment decision (FID) announcement by Noble Energy, the Leviathan partnership today reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that they had allotted $71 million for the Leviathan 7 drilling, in addition to the Leviathan 5 drilling announced in late 2016, according to the development plan for the Leviathan gas field.
Leviathan 7 is a development and production drilling designated as part of the Leviathan production set-up.
The decision to drill Leviathan 7 simultaneously with Leviathan 5 was taken at the recommendation of Noble Energy, the drilling operator and senior US partner, in order to save costs and streamline the drilling of both of these sites.
An Atwood Advantage platform will be used for the drilling at Leviathan 7. The platform is currently being used for development and production drilling at Tamar 8, which is scheduled to end in the coming weeks.
The drilling is 120 kilometers west of Haifa, where the sea depth is 1,630 meters. The reservoir is 3.5 kilometers below the seabed, and drilling is slated to take place in three stages. In the first stage, the upper part of Leviathan 7 will be drilled to a depth of 2,900 meters below the seabed. In the second stage, Leviathan 5 will be drilled to the final depth of 5,200 meters below the seabed, and in the third stage, the lower section of Leviathan 7 will be drilled to its final depth of 5,100 meters below the seabed.
The target layers in the drilling are from the Oligo-Miocene period, over 25 million years ago.
Delek Drilling Limited Partnership (TASE: DEDR.L) explained that during the drilling, a rock core sample dozens of meters long will be taken from the deep level, lifted to the drilling platform, and sent to laboratories for various geological and engineering tests. By analyzing the rock layers and additional tests made during the drilling (well logs) the model for forecasting the flow for the reservoir and its lifespan can be improved.
Delek Drilling and Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) CEO Yossi Abu said, "The speeded up implementation of the Leviathan 7 drilling at the same time as the Leviathan 5 drilling will enable us to obtain additional information about the Leviathan reservoir and its power, and about additional gas potential in the entire basin. We'll continue moving the project forward in order to provide gas for the Israel economy before the end of 2016."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 14, 2017
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