Israel discovers oil near the Dead Sea

An Israeli partnership announced that an oil field they have been surveying north of the Dead Sea is estimated to hold seven million barrels of oil, worth NIS 1.2 billion ($321 million). The reservoir, known as Hatrurim, is estimated to contain 7 million barrels of oil, while the high estimate is 11 million barrels. The estimates are given with 100 percent geological certainty of oil being found, since oil has already been produced from the reservoir, in the Halamish drilling, a report published by the companies holding the drilling license stated Sunday, according to Israel’s Globes financial newswire.

The Hatrurim license is spread over 94 square kilometers in the Dead Sea area. In 1995, Delek Group Ltd. carried out an initial drilling in the license, to a depth of two kilometers, and found oil. It was decided at the time not to produce oil from the reservoir because of the low oil price then prevailing. Last October, the Petroleum Commissioner in Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources approved the application from the Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP gas and oil exploration partnership to receive 25 percent of the Hatrurim license. On receipt of the license, the partners announced that they would drill again at Halamish, according to plan devised by geologist Dr. Eliyahu Rosenberg, and using advanced technologies.