Shemen Oil and Gas Resources Ltd. (TASE: SOG) today notified the TASE that drilling of the Yam 3 well, in shallow water 16 kilometers west of Ashdod, has been halted, due to high gas pressure in the borehole. The well operator stopped drilling at a depth of 3,551 meters, to consider alternatives for reaching the target strata at 5,200-5,800 meters.
Shemen Oil added that the change in plan would increase the drilling budget by an amount that cannot yet be estimated. Earlier this week, the company raised $11 million to finance its share of the well.
Shemen Oil owns 84.2% of the Yam 3 exploratory license, Zerah Oil And Gas Explorations LP (TASE: ZRAH) owns 7.5%, Zmiha Investment House Ltd. (TASE: TZMI) owns 3.34%, and well operator, Azerbaijan's Caspian Drilling Company Ltd. owns 5%.
Netherland Sewell & Associates Ltd. (NSAI) gives the Yam 3 license a best estimate of 120 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in potential resources.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 17, 2013
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