The well will be drilled to a total depth of 2450 metres on the northern part of the Sheikh Adi structure and will target the Jurassic formation.
GKP said, based on detailed analysis of 215 square kilometres of 3D data, the northern part of the structure appeared to be more tightly folded which it believed meant it was more likely to have a well-developed system of natural fractures.
Sheikh Adi-2 is the second exploration well to be drilled on the block by GKP, with the Sheikh Adi-1 wildcat being drilled about 1.45 kilometres to the south in August last year.
An independent analysis based on log results from the Cretaceous, Jurassic and the upper Triassic formations estimated gross oil-in-place resources of 1 billion to 3 billion barrels.
The Sara and Myra prospects may hold 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to a 30 June report prepared by US- based consultant Netherland, Sewell & Associates.
The Tamar and Leviathan gas deposits discovered off Israel since 2009 together hold an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet, more than triple the UK’s remaining reserves. These finds are sufficient to meet Israel’s domestic needs and may enable it to export gas, industry executives and government officials have said.
If drilling is successful, Israel Land Energy will decide later how to transport the gas for sale.
“We will move forward very fast, and we will do very successful well tests,” Marani said. “Then we will deal with exports. In the long-run we will probably sell one-third of our products to the domestic market and export about two-thirds.”
Israel Land Energy said on 12 May that a unit submitted a bid in a Cyprus government tender for exploration and production rights for oil and gas at a site off the island’s coast.
The Levant Basin, a triangular slice of the ocean floor between Israel and Cyprus, may hold 122 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to US Geological Survey estimates.
“The Israeli market is a little crowded now, and if we want to expand we need to diversify the risk and operate in several places,” Marani said. “If we win the Cyprus tender, we will need to raise more money through the capital market via a stock issue.”
At the beginning of this year, the company said a unit entered into agreements with Albania’s government for oil and gas rights at three blocks in the Adriatic Sea.
“Natural gas is very important and a real asset, but it’s a little bit more of the same,” he said. “Oil is a real game- breaker, and hopefully we will be the first to find oil, which would be a huge upside.”
Tullow struck another gross interval of 140 metres while drilling ahead at the Ngamia-1 well in Kenya’s Rift basin.
It said that the gross interval was found at a depth of between 1800 metres and 1940 metres.
“The reservoirs are similar to those previously encountered at a shallower depth,” Tullow continued.
“The well will continue to be drilled to a total depth of 2700 metres and then logged and sampled. This is expected to take a further three weeks to complete.”
Before the latest hit, a total pay count greater than 100 metres had been discovered over a gross oil-bearing interval of 650 metres across multiple reservoir zones.
Sampling has recovered oil of 30 degrees API from this last section with similar properties to the light waxy crude encountered in the upper reservoir zone, it was reported in March.
The structure is only the first prospect to be tested as part of a multi-well drilling campaign in Kenya and across the border in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley Basin, with several leads and prospects that are similar to Ngamia, already identified.
The well reached total depth of 1880 metres on 22 May, with wireline logs and side wall cores confirming the column in the Birkhead Formation with interpreted net oil pay of at least 6.5 metres.
In an announcement, Senex said the well was the first of two to be drilled as part of an expanded 14-well exploration and appraisal campaign on the western flank of the Cooper basin.
Iraq has launched its fourth energy auction for 12 new oil and gas areas across the country as it seeks to expand its crude reserves and become a major gas exporter. This is the latest step in Iraq's program to rapidly build up its energy sector after years of war and sanctions. The two-day auction has already been postponed several times due to complaints by potential bidders about contract terms. No companies put up offers for Block 6 between Anbar and Najaf provinces or Block 2 during early bidding on Wednesday. Kuwait Energy, TPAO and Dragon Oil have secured a deal to explore Block 9, a mainly oil area. The 12 large exploration blocks up for bidding include seven which are for gas and five for oil ttp://www.oilvoice.com/n/Iraq_launches_fourth_energy_auction/a24ecd2dcaeb.aspx#ixzz1wR7XEWVZ