Israel Oil & Gas Exploration Boom Continues
Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman with John & Dianna Haggee
Israel has natural gas fever, to judge by the line at the National Infrastructure Ministry’s oil board. “Even when they discovered the Heletz field in the south [in 1955] people weren’t lining up here, but this time even leading financial institutions have been backing all kinds of searches,” a member of the ministry’s oil board told TheMarker. The board member, Ron Nahman, who is also mayor of Ariel, said, “We haven’t had this many requests and inquiries in the past nine years. There’s never been interest like this.” Nahman and the other eight board members are responsible for allocating drilling and exploration rights within Israel and off the country’s shores. (Avi Bar-Eli)
The Oil Law advisory council at the Ministry of National Infrastructures met on Monday to review and discuss applications for oil and natural gas exploration licenses and oil production licenses. The council reviewed many applications for oil and natural gas licenses, including oil shales and the transfer of rights.
The council approved six applications:
- A license for Modiin Energy LP for the Yam Hadera prospect.
- A preliminary permit with forward rights for Zerah Oil And Gas Explorations LP and Ginko Oil Exploration LP for the Gulliver offshore prospect.
- A license for Ginko for the land Orly prospect.
- A license for Swiss-based Rig Builders Contracting SA for the land Gurim prospect.
- A license for Dr. Baruch Drin Consultants and Services Ltd. and Griffin Strategic Investments Ltd. for the land Yahel prospect.
- A license for ACC Resources Ltd. for land Shemen prospect (in the Med Ashdod area).
The initial permit is for a maximum of 18 months for an unlimited area, during which preliminary surveys are conducted, including the collation of all current material as well as new material to fill in the information gaps. When the permit period expires, the licensee must apply for a drilling prospect.
A license is for three years, with an option for renewal, and requires drilling a well. An extension is for a maximum of seven years.
If and when commercial quantities oil or gas are discovered, the license is for a maximum of 50 years. The holding will not be granted for more than 30 years in the first stage, and only subject to justifying the reservoir’s potential.
Gas Discovery Already the Bright Spot in Israel’s Economy
February 18, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
One bright spot in Israel’s financial markets. Today Israel’s Haaretz news organization posted a fairly bleak story on Israel’s financial markets. (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1065141.html) Nothing new in that; stories of down markets are the daily fare in the midst of our worldwide economic meltdown. There was, however a bright spot (brilliant bright!) “Isramco, a main partner in the Tamar-1 exploration that found the huge field of gas off the Haifa shore, exploded upwards again, closing 24% higher on huge turnover of NIS 90 million.” Stock value in Delek Group, also a partner in the Tamar-1 gas discovery, has more than doubled in the last two months. Could Israel’s massive gas discovery (and possibly and oil discovery in the near future) play a major role in saving Israel’s economy? It looks like it already is. Just so you know, here are the partners in the Tamar -1:
Who all is involved in Israel’s offshore gas discovery? Just so you know, here are the partners in the Tamar -1:
1. Noble Energy: 36 percent (Houston, TX, ticker symbol: NBL – NYSE, http://www.nobleenergyinc.com)
2. Isramco Negev: 28.75 percent (Petach Tikvah, Israel, ticker symbol: ISRA.L – TLV)
3. Avner Oil Exploration: 15.625 percent (Petach Tikvah, Israel, ticker symbol: AVNR.L – TLV)
4. Delek Drilling: 15.625 percent (Netanya, Israel, ticker symbol: DEDR.L –TLV, http://www.delek.co.il )
5. Dor Gas Exploration: 4 percent (Yakum, Israel)
