Twelve days after a problem brought a halt to work at Leviathan 3 offshore from Haifa to verify the size of the gas reserves there, drilling has yet to resume.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) has failed to solve the problem, and has sent abroad for special equipment to help repair the fault. However, the delay is not expected to harm the drilling timetable, and nor will it cause any budgetary additions.
Leviathan 3 has drilled to a depth of 2,600 meters ahead of schedule. Noble Energy's partners in the field are Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) and Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L), and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L).
When Noble Energy first announced the problem at Leviathan 3 at the start of July, it said that such difficulties had been taken into account in the timetable and budget. The source of the delay is a fault caused by sand in the pressure regulator, which must now be cleaned out.
The Leviathan 3 drilling site is 4.4 kilometers from the Leviathan 2 site, which was halted following problems, and 9.6 kilometers from the original Leviathan 1 site from where the gas discovery was made. The Leviathan 3 drilling is planned to be 5,300 meters deep and should take three months. The budget for the drilling is $70 million and if production tests are carried out that will take an extra two to three weeks at an estimated cost of $34 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 17, 2011
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