Energean announces new commercial gas discovery off of Israel

Energean plc has announced that the Hermes exploration well off of Israel has made a commercial gas discovery of between 7 and 15 bcm and that the Stena IceMax drilling rig has moved to block 12 to drill the Zeus structure.

According to an Energean press release, the Hermes exploration well, block 31, offshore Israel, has made a commercial discovery. Preliminary estimates indicate that the structure contains 7 – 15 bcm of recoverable natural gas resources.

Detailed analysis of the data collected by the well is ongoing, with the aim of refining volumetric estimates and potential commerciality for both the discovery and the full area. The Hermes discovery has helped to de-risk the nearby Poseidon and Orpheus structures, which represent attractive potential future appraisal targets to fully assess the potential of the area around block 31.

The Stena IceMax has now moved to block 12 (Olympus Area) to drill the Zeus structure. Zeus is estimated to contain 10 -12 bcm of gross prospective unrisked gas resources in the A/B/C sands and will enable Energean to gather additional data to further refine resource estimates across the entire Olympus area, currently estimated to be approximately 58 bcm of unrisked recoverable resources.

According to the press release, Energean has exercised its option to drill a sixth well with Stena Drilling Limited as part of the current drilling campaign. This well is expected to target the Hercules prospect, located on block 23, offshore Israel.

As it is noted the new quantities of natural gas in Israel can be used to increase Energean's sales in the domestic market or for exports to Cyprus, through liquefaction at an FLNG unit that will be installed in Vassiliko, or for exports to Egypt through existing upgraded or new pipelines, and through liquefaction at the country's existing terminals.