Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Pride North America rig has reached Israel's exclusive economic zone. The rig will replace the Sedco Express, which drilled the Leviathan 1 exploratory well, and will carry out the production tests at Leviathan and drill to deeper oil-bearing strata .
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) owns 39.66% of Leviathan, Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) each own 22.67%, and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L) owns 15%.
The Pride North America rig will drill to the third target strata, at a depth of 7,200 meters, where the 3D seismic survey indicated the presence of 1.2 billion barrels of oil with an 8% chance of geological success, i.e. of actually finding oil. The survey indicated the presence of 3 billion barrels of oil in the second target strata, at a depth of 5,800 meters, with a 17% chance of geological success.
The Pride North America rig has an important financial advantage over the Sedco Express rig, in that it is cheaper to operate, at $275,000 a day, half the cost of the Sedco Express rig. The reason is that the Leviathan partners leased the Pride North America rig at a good time - after the US government imposed a deepwater drilling moratorium in the aftermath of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.
Delek Group's share price fell 0.5% by early afternoon to NIS 830, but Avner's share price rose 1.7% to NIS 2.28, Delek Drilling's share price rose 1.8% to NIS 12.69, and Ratio's share price rose 4% to NIS 0.60.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 31, 2011
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