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Home Global Economic News Global Israel vs Lebanon gas fields: More drilling needed
Israel vs Lebanon gas fields: More drilling needed PDF Print E-mail
Written by Fawzia Sheikh for OilPrice.com   
Monday, 12 July 2010 12:13
Ownership of offshore Israel / Lebanese gas deposits speculative without further drilling says analyst.


While offshore natural gas discoveries have spurred Lebanese and Israeli saber-rattling in a region widely viewed as rich in energy resources, a London analyst said it is too early to make categorical claims about the size and ownership of the potential reservoirs.

In the last several months, Noble Energy Inc (NYSE:NBL), based in Houston, Tex., and Israeli companies have announced two offshore gas discoveries known as Tamar and Leviathan that they say may hold about 24 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Yet, it is “really too early to say” which country has the valid claim over the underwater resources in dispute, as they “may well extend into Lebanese waters,” Catherine Hunter, a senior analyst on the energy team at IHS Global Insight in London, told OilPrice.com. Without further surveys and drilling, the situation is still unclear, she said.

There is a chance of a “really large-scale discovery,” Hunter said, but the blocks are located within recognized Israeli waters and exploration would not have occurred outside of this area. “It will take a few years to figure out where exactly it is,” and until then “it’s all quite speculative,” she argued.

Leviathan is located 130 km from the city of Haifa in the north of Israel, while Tamar is based around 90 km from the city, Hunter later wrote in a research note.

She said Leviathan is also located toward Cypriot territorial waters.

Israel is reportedly in touch with the Cypriot authorities, who have not made claims to the find, although maritime borders still have to be officially delineated between Israel and Cyprus, as well as Israel and Lebanon, she wrote.

Details on the size of the finds have also been uncertain, she argued.

Leviathan, the larger discovery at 16 trillion cubic feet, has undergone seismic surveys but has not been proven via the drilling of actual wells and testing in the sea bed, Hunter said during an interview, adding this will take place later this year.

The Tamar reserve base, estimated at about 8.4 trillion cubic feet, is “more understood” because of the different wells that have been drilled, but it will “take ages” to fully assess as reserves have been upgraded at least twice so far, Hunter added.

The apparent natural gas windfall has ignited a war of words involving Hezbollah, Tel Aviv and Beirut.

Hezbollah warned that it will not allow Israel to steal Lebanese gas resources.

The Lebanese parliament, now struggling with a hefty debt of about $52 billion, is racing to ratify a law allowing oil and gas exploration before Israel begins to move into its territory.

In turn, Israel’s Minister of Infrastructure Uzi Landau cautioned that Israel will not think twice about using force to safeguard investments in the gas fields.




By Fawzia Sheikh for OilPrice.com who focus on Fossil Fuels, Metals, Oil Prices and Geopolitics To find out more visit their website at: http://www.oilprice.com