Energean makes 'significant' gas find off Israel

Mediterranean-focused Energean Oil & Gas on Monday said its Karish North exploration well off Israel had made a “significant” gas discovery.

Preliminary analysis indicated initial gas in place estimates of between 1tn – 1.5tn cubic feet (TCF) of gas and a high quality reservoir in the B and C sands.

A gross hydrocarbon column of up to 249 meters was encountered and a 27 meter core was recovered to surface, Energean said in a statement, adding that further evaluation will now be undertaken to further refine resource potential and determine the liquids content of the discovery.

The Karish North discovery will be commercialised via a tie-back to the Energean Power floating production, storage and production vessel (FPSO), 5.4km from the well.

The company said the new find “significantly increases” the likelihood of converting a deal to supply gas for the Israeli domestic market into a firm contract.

Chief executive Mathios Rigas said Energean was building the FPSO with spare capacity, “which will enable us to quickly, safely and economically develop both Karish North and future discoveries”.

“We have already signed a contingent contract to sell 0.2 TCF of this new resource, and our strategy is now to secure the offtake for remaining volumes. We continue to see strong demand for our gas, which we believe will be supported by today's announcement."