Project Profile
Value: US$3 billion
Location: 90 km west of Haifa, Offshore Israel
Reserves: Yam Tethys with ~ 1.2 tcf / over 33.5 bcm, Tamar with 10 tcf (over 280 bcm) of natural gas (2PS)
Water depth: 16,076 ft (Tamar)
Start-up year: 2013
The Yam Tethys project is a joint venture between the partnerships (Delek Drilling, Avner Intrest) and Noble Energy. Named for the Mesozoic Era ocean and the mythological aquatic sea goddess, this JV discovered two significant gas reservoirs offshore Israel, towards the end of last century. These reservoirs, Mari B (discovered in February, 2000) and Noa, (discovered in June, 1999) with approximately 1.2 tcf / over 33.5 bcm of the highest quality (99.9 pure methane) 1P (Proven) gas reserves marked the start of a new era. Mari-B and Noa propelled the Israeli offshore into the oil & gas game for the very first time, and introduced natural gas the Israeli market.
As IEC has converted many of its power plants to work on Natural Gas as well, demand for Natural Gas by the Israeli market has been growing steadily. The facilities at Mari-B are capable of producing 600 MMcfpd at peak rates, and at this rate, it seems we will soon be working in full capacity. Yam Tethys\'s current supply is at a rate of approximately 3 – 3.5 bcm (.1 - .12 tcf) per year.
Yam Tethys reservoir and the facilieties built over it areof the highest quality. The partnerships will be able to make use of these facilities for the purpose of re-injecting natural gas from different sources into the Mari-B reservoir for strategic and operational storage. Yam Tethys already has a letter of intent executed with the IEC to provide such services. The total budget for the first phase of development is about US$3 billion, and includes 5 subsea wells (200 to 250 Mmcfd each ). Production is gathered at the field and delivered via Dual 16” flowlinesand a new platform adjacent to the existing Mari-B structure. The projects includes gas injection, storage and withdrawal in the Mari-B reservoir.
The Yam Tethys reservoir, nearly depleted, provided roughly 23 bcm of gas to the Israel Electric Corporation from February 2004 to December 2013. The Yam Tethys basin has drained much more quickly than projected. A small quantity of gas remains in the basin but it cannot be utilized because it is required to maintain pressure levels. The reservoir can serve as a storage facility for excess Tamar gas.
Operators:
Noble Energy: Operator with 47.059% interest
Delek Group Ltd.: 25% interest
Avner Oil and Gas LP: 23% interest
Larger Delek Group: 4.441% interest
Contractors:
Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc.: Contract for independent reservoir study for Tamar field