ISRAEL MAKES NEW DISCOVERY OFF ITS COAST

Natural Gas Europe ^ | December 18th, 2014 | Karen Ayat

[thackney]

Israel made another discovery off its coast. The newly discovered field, Royee, may hold up to 3.2 Tcf of natural gas according to a statement made by the Israeli partners in the field Ratio and Israel Opportunity who hold respectively 70%, and 10% stakes. The remaining 20% of the field are held by Edison. Royee is located about 150 kilometers offshore Israel close to its maritime borders with Cyprus and Egypt. The field’s size is yet to be confirmed, but current estimates suggest it is the third largest field discovered to date in Israeli waters after the Leviathan discovered by Noble Energy in 2010 and holding up to 22 Tcf of natural gas and the Tamar field discovered by Noble Energy in 2009 and holding up to 11 Tcf of natural gas. An exploration well is expected to begin in the year to come and will cost around USD 100 million.

Israel’s substantial natural gas encounters in its waters could turn the country into a net natural gas exporter. In June 2013, the Netanyahu cabinet approved export quotas and the Supreme Court rejected in October of the same year an appeal against the decision to export about 40% of Israel’s proven reserves. Several letters of intent were signed by the israeli authorities launching talks with regional neighbours for the purpose of exporting natural gas to Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority via pipeline. The Tamar and the Leviathan partners, Noble and Delek, were said to be in talks to deliver gas to Egypt via an undersea pipeline that originally served to deliver Egyptian gas to Israel. The gas would then be shipped to export markets via Egypt’s unused export facilities. Regional deals remain however fraught with political sensitivities. Jordanian officials for example reject the allegation that the Kingdom will be exporting gas from neighbouring Israel to address the severe energy crisis the country is going through that has caused a spike in its energy bill.

At the EU council for energy ministers, the ministers of Greece and Cyprus pitched the East Med Pipeline project to the EU. The proposed pipeline would run from Cyprus and Israel to Europe via Greece and would assist Europe’s quest to diversify its sources and routes of natural gas. The Levant basin has a substantial potential but the development of the various projects needed to monetize the resources are often not commercially justified by the modest regional natural gas needs. Cyprus has put its onshore LNG terminal project on hold until further exploratory discoveries are made. Lebanon is about to launch its first licensing round, delayed several times due to the country’s inability to agree on major pillars for the energy sector, such as deciding on a model sharing agreement and which blocks to open for licensing first. The Levant basin could constitute a new solution for Europe and make its entry into the natural gas market if the various geopolitical challenges are overcome.

[thackney]

In an environment without sufficient oxygen, Carbon and Hydrogen will eventually form Methane as it is the lowest energy state of those atoms. Ethane and the like will also be formed depending on the ratio of atoms that exist.

But the simple methane molecule is a far cry from the complex long-chain hydrocarbons (Alkanes, Naphthenes, Aromatics and Asphaltics) found in crude oil.

[AU72]

Sheldon on the “Big Bang Theory” says that Geology is not a real science.

That's because "Intro to Geology" or "Earth Sciences" is a perennial gut course.

[RinaseaofDs]

We’re finding this stuff below the bedrock, so there’s no way its dead dinosaurs.

Yet, the press still calls it a fossil fuel.

[exit82]

I'm beginning to believe that the earth creates gas and oil, and we're not burning old dinosaurs

The world uses 90 million barrels a DAY of oil.

Each barrel is 42 gallons.

There's no way that many dinosaurs could have died to create that much oil.

Besides, in the Gulf of Mexico, we are getting oil 18,000 feet down. That's over three miles!

God made oil out of hydrocarbons, it is a natural substance, that's why there is so much of it.

[thackney]

We’re finding this stuff below the bedrock

Could you provide an example of that?

so there’s no way its dead dinosaurs.

You should understand the dinosaur thing was just cartoon advertising for material that eventual formed oil was laid down during the time of dinosaurs.

We know today we can get oil out of algae. Trapped in falling sediment away from sources of oxygen, cooked under pressure and increased temperatures for dozens to hundreds of millions of year, it is released and trapped under cap rocks.

[RinaseaofDs]

“Conversion of biological material to petroleum and natural gas is a geological process.”

Why are we finding lots of oil beneath the bedrock? How would stuff die, float down, and then somehow permeate bedrock?

[thackney]

Besides, in the Gulf of Mexico, we are getting oil 18,000 feet down. That's over three miles!

And still in a sedimentary basin comprised of materials laid down from the surface.

Take 1 inch of compacted sediment every thousand years. Now multiple by 400 million years. That is over 6 miles deep.

Where do you think all the sediment that runs out of the Mississippi and other rivers ends up?

[FatherofFive]

There's no way that many dinosaurs could have died to create that much oil.

It is not just Dino. Algae. Plankton.

But I never heard a good explanation why oil wells that went dry, somehow 'refilled' after years.

[Psalm 73]

I appreciate your analysis and you have a far greater grasp of the subject than I do - I can understand how frustrating this can be for you - but I'm still not sold on organic sediment becoming petroleum.
We would probably agree on a thousand other topics, though!

[exit82]

Where does all the sediment come from to raise the level of the Earth six miles in all directions? C’mon.

[thackney]

It isn’t laid down in all directions. It is in basins in select areas. It is not an even distribution any different that mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains used to be at least as tall as the Rockies. Erosion over immense time wore them down. Material like that is carried by rivers into lakes and oceans. The weight of the sediment will push down upon the basement rock.

You have to think in geological time frames; times periods where continents move around the globe.

[MWestMom]

I’m going to go away from the geology discussion for a second and just say, the Lord takes care of His own.

[thackney]

A question then:

The drilling for oil has clearly shown it it layers, trapped beneath different impermeable rock layers that hold the oil. If these cap rock layers didn't exist, the oil would not be trapped there.

How do you think that oil moved above one cap layer to then reside beneath another cap layer, but is still trapped beneath the lower layers as well?

And these oil deposits contain microfossils. And oil found under the same surface area, often have greatly different qualities like sweet/sour, heavy light, etc.

- - - - - -

You might also consider to date, petroleum geologist following the "theories" of biotic oil production laid down in layers of sediment produce oil.

Aboitic theorist have produced cash from gullible investors and sometimes governments, but no commercial oil.

[onedoug]

I’ve often wondered how much more information on the crust of the Earth we’d have if so much oil data weren’t proprietary.

But that’s the way the industry operates, and I’m fine with that too.

[Jan_Sobieski]

More really bad news for Putin (and Russia)!

[thackney]

Russia Angling for Share In Israeli Natural Gas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3238650/posts

[onedoug]

Great post, btw. Good too to hear from one who’s taken one or more actual courses in geology.

Thanks a lot.

[Joe Boucher]

More headaches for Putin.
He envisioned bending Europe over for Russian gas to heat em.
Now them damn Jews are about to ruin everything.