The estimated resources of the Dolphin offshore gas field have been sharply reduced, according to a statement by the Israeli partners in the license.
Delek Drilling, Avner Oil and Gas and Ratio Oil Exploration slashed the estimate by 85% to 81.3 Bcf from 550 Bcf based on analysis by Netherland Sewell & Associates.
Noble Energy Inc is also a partner in the Dolphin license, which is located 30 km northwest of the huge Leviathan field.
Delek Drilling, Avner Oil and Gas and Ratio said that it was not possible at this stage to determine a timetable for the development of the Dolphin reservoir and that this would depend on a review of plans for developing adjacent reservoirs.
The statement went on to say that Dolphin could eventually be integrated into adjacent fields such as Leviathan or Tamar.
In a separate announcement, the companies said that Netherland Sewell & Associates best estimate for the gas resources in the Leviathan field was 16.8 Tcf with a 50% probability of success.
The partners stressed that the main potential for the resources is the international market. And they added that each alternative has a different timetable and cost and that until the preferred option is chosen it was not possible to make a reasonable estimate for either the timetable or the budget for developing Leviathan.
