Homer Ferrington rig to begin drilling Myra well by July 10

The Myra and Sarah licensees today announced that the Noble Homer Ferrington rig will begin drilling the first exploratory well by July 10, after completing work at the Leviathan well. The rig will then drill the second exploratory well. The licensees previously said that the Myra exploratory well would be drilled first, followed by the Sarah well. The drill operator notified the partners that it would receive the rig by June 20.

Israel Land Development Company Energy Ltd. (TASE: IE) and its affiliates own 50.5% of Myra and Sarah, Modiin Energy LP (TASE:MDIN.L) owns 29.2%, its parent company IDB Development Corporation owns 5.6%, IPC Oil and Gas Holdings Ltd. (IPC) (TASE: IPC) owns 13.6%, and well operator GeoGlobal Resources Inc. (AMEX: GGR) owns 5%. The companies had previously obtained a postponement to the start of the drilling, due to delays at the Leviathan well.

ILDC Energy CEO Ohad Marani said, "We are ready to begin drilling to the gas and oil targets at Myra and Sarah, as soon as the rig arrives."

The Myra 1 exploratory well is scheduled to take 70 days to drill to the target strata, and the results are due three months after completion. The Sarah 1 exploratory well is scheduled to take 50 days to drill. The Myra well is targeting strata at a depth of 3,700 meters in 1,500-meter deep water, and the Sarah well is targeting strata at a depth of 3,000 meters in 1,300-meter deep water. The licensees have budgeted $157 million to drill the two wells, and production costs, if approved, will cost an additional $43 million.

The Myra and Sarah licenses are located 80 kilometers west of Hadera, south of the Dalit and Tamar gas discoveries. Netherland Sewell & Associates Ltd. (NSAI) estimates that the two licenses have a best estimate of 6.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with a 54% probability of success, and 150 million barrels of oil with an 18% probability of success.

ILDC Energy's share price rose 1.4% by mid-afternoon to NIS 0.80, giving a market cap of NIS 778 million, but Modiin Energy's share price fell 0.3% to NIS 0.35, giving a market cap of NIS 808 million, and IPC's share price fell 1.8% ot NIS 0.39, giving a market cap of NIS 71 million.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 12, 2012

Homer Ferrington rig to begin drilling Myra well by July 10

The Myra 1 exploratory well is scheduled to take 70 days to drill to the target strata, and Sarah 1 well is scheduled to take 50 days to drill.