U.S.-Israeli natgas group to drill two more sites

[Joanne98]

TEL AVIV, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S.-Israeli exploration group that discovered large amounts of natural gas in Israeli waters last month said on Sunday it authorised two more drill sites in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Dalit-1 and Tamar-2 drill sites will begin immediately after the current production tests at the Tamar-1 site, Delek Drilling (DEDRp.TA), a partner in the group, said in a statement.

The group led by Noble Energy (NBL.N) said last month it had found more than 88 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas 90 km from the port of Haifa in northern Israel at a site known as Tamar-1.

The group had said it plans to carry out production tests and additional verification drills in the next few months before making a final decision on whether to go ahead with an investment expected to reach $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Dalit-1 is located 60 km off the coast of Hadera, a city to the south of Haifa. The drilling there is expected to last two months at a cost of $50 million.

Drilling at Tamar-2, alongside Tamar-1, is expected to last three months at an estimated cost of $75 million. The aim of the Tamar-2 drill is to better determine the reserves of the Tamar site, Delek said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL146298520090201

[bemildred]

1. Court stops order blocking Egyptian gas to Israel

CAIRO (AP) - An Egyptian court has suspended an earlier ruling halting a much criticized deal to export Egyptian natural gas to Israel.

Opposition groups had sued to halt the 15-year fixed price deal between an Egyptian company and the state-run Israel Electric Corporation, arguing it lacked any mechanism for Cairo to adjust prices to reflect current market conditions. The private company party to the deal is partly owned by the Egyptian government.

In November, a lower court had ruled that the exports should be halted.

But the Supreme Administrative court on Monday suspended that ruling, pending a review of the situation by an independent experts panel. Another hearing was scheduled for March 16.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090202&id=9566870

[Igel]

2. It'll be messy.

IIRC, Egypt's got some treaty obligations involving the sale of natural gas and oil that they agreed to when the Sinai was returned. It's where Israel got their NG and oil.

[azurnoir]

3. Its interesting how international law applies

when its the other guy