Noble Stops Drilling Offshore Israel Well, Restarting Leviathan Appraisal
May 16 2011 - 1:01PM
Dow Jones News
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) said Monday that it has stopped drilling
an appraisal well at its Leviathan discovery off Israel after water
was discovered flowing up the wellbore to the sea floor.
As a result, Houston-based Noble will cap the well and move its
drilling rig to another spot within the vast deep-water prospect,
which is believed to contain about 16 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas.
No hydrocarbons were detected in the water as it came up from a
flowing layer of sand around the surface casing, the company
said.
Still, Noble said it "has concluded that the current location
and wellbore are unsuitable for continued drilling operations," and
it would move its rig to a new location to resume its assessment of
the Leviathan.
The appraisal well was the company's second into the Leviathan.
It had yet to reach the layers of natural gas discovered by the
company's first well, Noble said.
Noble said in early April that it had suspended drilling at its
discovery well, which was probing the prospects' deeper reserves.
Noble said it identified wear on the wellbore casing, requiring
material and equipment that is not available in Israel before it
could resume.
That rig was moved to the nearby Tamar field, another large
offshore discovery, believed to hold 9 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas, that has Israel poised to become an energy
exporter.
Noble plans to return to work at the discovery well once the new
appraisal well is completed, and may eventually drill a third
appraisal well, said company spokesman David Larson.
The costs related to the most recent abandoned drilling
operation are $40 million, $16 million of which is Noble's share,
Larson said.
Noble has a 39.66% working interest in the Leviathan discovery.
Delek Drilling and Aver Oil Exploration each hold 22.67% interests,
and Ratio Oil Exploration (RATI.L.TV, RTEXF) has a 15% stake in the
field.
Shares of Noble recently traded 2.17% higher at $40.45.
-By Ryan Dezember, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208;
ryan.dezember@dowjones.com
Ratio Energies (PK) (USOTC:RTEXF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Ratio Energies (PK) (USOTC:RTEXF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
