Potential for large natural gas find near Haifa

An oil and gas exploration company announced on Sunday that in its assessment, the Pelagic natural gas fields off the Haifa coast likely contains 6.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.4 billion barrels of oil.

According to the survey, carried out by Texas-based petroleum consultant Ryder Scott Company, there is a high probability for geological success, estimated from 28.5 to 76.7 percent in the field’s five sites.

Since the global chances of success when drilling for oil ranges from 5.3% to 12.3%, there is great optimism about finding gas in the Pelagic gas fields, located about 170 kilometers off Israel’s coast.

Ronny Halman, chairman of the Israel Opportunity Energy Resources, a Ramat Gan-based oil and gas exploration company, said in a press release:”The quantity of gas discovered in the licenses, and the high probabilities, make it the third largest offshore discovery [in Israel] to date. This quantity guarantees Israel’s energy future for decades, and makes it possible to export Israeli gas, and boost the state’s revenues without worrying about gas reserves for domestic consumption.”

Gas exploration groups have discovered significant natural gas fields in Israeli territorial waters in the past decade, contributing to an increased interest in prospecting off the coast. The largest discovery to date is the Tamar field, estimated at 9.7 trillion cubic feet.

Israel Opportunity owns 10% of the licenses in the Pelagic fields.