OPC’s Extensive Involvement and Anticipation of the Levant Basin’s Exploration Potential in the Eastern Mediterranean
After Noble Energy discovered the Tamar gas field in 2009 in the Levant basin of the Eastern Mediterranean, major hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in this area successively, such as Leviathan and Karish, suggesting good exploration prospects of deepwater (> 1,000m) across the basin. The main reservoir is distributed in the Oligocene-Lower Miocene Tamar stacked turbidite sandstone with the Miocene mudstone as the main seal. Secondary reservoirs are present in Cretaceous and Jurassic sandstones. Traps are structural and stratigraphic, with anticlines formed as a result of Cretaceous compression. Post-depositional rifting created NW-SE-oriented normal faults, which, combined with shale between reservoir layers, can generate fluid flow baffles. Reservoir quality is high, with net-to-gross >75% alongside porosities as high as 20%. In Tamar, all wells encountered a single gas-water contact, suggesting hydraulic connectivity across the field.
OPC’s history in the Eastern Mediterranean begins in 2001, with a project covering seismic modelling of blocks 165 and 166, which the client decided not to drill. Fast forward, OPC supported the initial characterisation during the exploratory and development drilling of Leviathan, Karish, Tamar, and, more recently, Athena. OPC has provided a combination of exploration, appraisal, and development services across the basin.
OPC greatly looks forward to the results of the 4th Offshore Bidding Round in Israel and supporting our brilliant clients.
Please contact Max Richards for further information, who will be visiting Israel in the near future.
Max Richards
International Business Manager