Page 10 - MEOG Week 28 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

Leviathan partners expedite

expansion drilling plan

ISRAEL THE partners developing Israel’s offshore Levia- However, it still falls below the previously antic-
than gas field have brought forward plans to drill ipated level of 10.8 bcm.
a fifth well on the asset in response to high gas The increased sales are expected to see total
demand during the first half of 2021. revenue from the field reach $1.7bn in 2021, with
The partnership is comprised of Delek Drill- Delek taking an equity share of $760mn. These
ing (45.34%), Chevron (39.66%, operator) and figures are based on a conservative Brent crude
Ratio Oil Exploration (15%). price of around $52 in 2021.
In a submission to the Tel Aviv Stock The company added that the partners had
Exchange, Delek said that the Leviathan-8 devel- made 4.2 bcm of gas sales during the second half
opment and production well would be drilled in of 2020, 5% higher than forecast.
the area of lease I/15 in Leviathan North during In a comment to press, Delek’s CEO Yossi
2022, rather than in “later years” as had previ- Abu said: “The continuing increase and sta-
ously been planned. bilisation in the actual amount of gas exports
The well, which will be located around 130 to Egypt, alongside the rise in demand on the
km west of Haifa, will take around four months domestic market, have led to a revision upwards
to drill and will cost around $248mn, which will in the forecast for sales and production from the
be split between the partners according to their Leviathan reservoir, which has already become a
shareholding. It will take place at a sea depth of major energy anchor in the sector.”
1,620 metres and reach a total depth of 5,300 He added: “The continued development
metres. The drilling will be carried out by the of the reservoir, expansion of the pipeline and
Stena Forth drillship. increasing export capabilities will allow us to
Delek said that Chevron had recommended promote more export contracts.”
drilling the well to “the redundancy in the pro- Production began at Leviathan in late 2019
duction system” and considering current vol- and has been ramping up to its predicted plateau
umes of production and demand. level of 1.2bn cubic feet per day (34mn cubic
It added that the well would be “integrated metres), and further increases above the name-
as part of the production drilling system”, with plate hinge on the installation of two expanders.
the required infrastructure constructed for its Total production in 2020 is estimated at around
connection to the existing subsea production 7 bcm.
system. The field’s combined proven plus probable
In March, Delek said that the partners (2P) reserves and 2C resources are estimated at
expected 2021 gas sales from the asset to be 10bn just under 23 trillion cubic feet (651 bcm) of gas
cubic metres, marking a 1.1 bcm increase on the and 41mn barrels of condensate.
8.9 bcm estimate provided in July 2020 when the A late 2020 reserves report by Netherland,
partners factored the impact of the coronavi- Sewell & Associates Inc. (NSAI) said that raised
rus (COVID-19) pandemic into their forecast. the valuation of the field by 2.3% to $10.8bn.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 28 14•July•2021