Prospective natural gas resources located in the eastern Mediterranean Daniel license zones may come close to the quantities found in Israel’s Tamar reservoir, a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange report revealed on Sunday.
Best estimates for such resources in the “Og Prospect,” located within the Daniel East license, as well as those for the entire Daniel West zone, amount to 1.1 trillion cubic feet (33 billion cubic meters) and 7.9 tcf (221 BCM) respectively – or about 254 BCM in total – according to the report filed by the Isramco Negev 2-LP exploration firm. In comparison, the Tamar reservoir, which has been providing gas to Israel since March 2013, contains about 282 BCM of gas.
For both Daniel East and Daniel West, estimates for the “unrisked gross prospective resources” were sent on Friday to the license partners by the Texas-based firm Netherland, Sewell and Associates, Inc. (NSAI).
In the Og prospect, located within the Daniel East, the NSAI data projected that the best estimate of gas contents was 300.7 bcf (8 BCM) in Og’s upper sand, and 884 bcf (25 BCM) in lower sand. In total, the best estimate for the license was therefore about 1.1 trillion cubic feet (33 BCM).
NSAI estimated a 38 percent chance of a geologic success in finding gas in Og’s upper sand, and a 43% chance in the lower sand.
The upper and lower sands of Og also may contain a total of 0.4 million barrels of condensate, according to best estimates published in the report. Condensate is a liquid, hydrocarbon by-product of natural gas extraction that can be potentially used in the petrochemical industry.
For the Daniel West license area, which includes nine different blocks that contain various divisions, the NSAI report projected a best estimate of 7,885.5 bcf, or 7.9 tcf (221 BCM), of gas.
In the nine blocks of the Daniel West, the probability of geologic success range from a low of 24% in the DWN3 block to a high of 42-57% in the two sections of the DWCS1 block, with the other projected success rates in the remaining blocks falling somewhere in between these figures.
Best estimates for the amount of liquid condensate in the Daniel West zone were about 2.8 million barrels, the report said.
Regarding both Daniel East and Daniel West, NSAI stressed that the estimates made were for prospective resources only, and that “the prospective resources included in this report should not be construed as reserves or contingent resources; they represent exploration opportunities and quantify the development potential in the event a petroleum discovery is made.”
Isramco holds a 65% stake in both Daniel licenses, while Modiin Energy Limited Partnership has a 15% share. I.O.C. – Israel Oil Company Ltd. is a 10% shareholder in the zones, while ATP Oil & Gas Corp. and Petroleum Services Holding AS each have 5% stakes.
