Israel petroleum systems

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Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region
Series AAPG Memoir
Chapter The petroleum systems of Israel
Author Michael A. Gardosh, Eli Tannenbaum
Link Web page
Store AAPG Store

Petroleum has been exploited in the area of Israel since times of antiquity.[1] Remains of asphalt collected along the Dead Sea shore were identified in Egyptian mummies dated to about 200 B.C.[2] Modern commercial exploitation of hydrocarbons began in the 1950s with the discovery of the Helez oil field in the southern Coastal Plain of Israel (Figure 1). The Helez success promoted drilling activity throughout the country, but until the 1990s only small quantities of oil and gas had been discovered and produced. In 1999 the focus of exploration was shifted from the onshore systems to the Levantine Basin (Figure 1). In the following decade, 11 natural gas fields were discovered offshore Israel in water depths ranging from 200–1600 m (656–5249 ft). One of them, the MariB field (Figure 1), began production in 2004 and the Tamar field in 2013.

  • Figure 1 Map showing the main tectonic elements and petroleum occurrences of Israel. The two most prominent tectonic features are the Levantine Basin and Margin in the west and the Dead Sea rift in the east. Most of the hydrocarbon accumulations found in Israel are associated with these two tectonic provinces. Other important structural elements are the Syrian Arc fold belt in central and southern Israel, the Sinai-Negev dextral, strike-slip faults, and the normal fault system of the Galilee. Numbers refer to oil fields and hydrocarbon shows detailed in Table 1. 50 km (31.1 mi).

  • Figure 2 Map showing the location of oil and gas wells and active petroleum rights (licenses and leases) in Israel. The information in the map is updated to April 2012 (adapted from information in the Israel Ministry of Energy and Water Resources website). 50 km (31.1 mi).

Table 1 Summary table of the oil and gas fields and the main hydrocarbon shows in the area of Israel. The locations of hydrocarbon accumulations are shown in Figure 1. Production data is taken from the Ministry of Energy database and includes the cumulative amount of hydrocarbons that had been produced by the end of 2011 (U.F. = Undeveloped Field). Resource data includes the amount of technically recoverable oil and gas resources in discovered fields, taken from public company reports and other published sources. The resources in the Aphrodite field are estimated for the area in Israeli water. The Gaza Marine field is located outside of the Israeli economic water. The production and resource data of the Helez field (5) includes the combined amount in all three reservoir levels. The amount of recoverable resources in some of the small onshore fields (1, 2, 4, 9, 12, and 20) is unknown
Age Field or Show # (show=*) Field or Show Name Petroleum System Year of Discovery Reservoir Name or Formation Reservoir Type Hydrocarbon Type Trap Type Source Rock Seal Rock Produced by 2001 (MMBO &/or BCFG) Recoverable Resources (MMBO &/or BCFG)
Quaternary 27 Hula Hula 1991 Huyla Sand Continental sandstone, coal Gas Structural/stratigraphic Hula Formation Hula marl 0.01 0.2
26 Ashdod Gas Yafo 1976 Kurkar Yafo calcarenite Gas Stratigraphic Saqiye Group Saqiye Group 0.37 1.5
Pliocene 25 Gaza Marine Yafo 2000 Yafo Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale U.F. 1200
24 Nir Yafo 2000 Yafo Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural/stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale U.F. 4
23 MarieB Yafo 2000 Yafo Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural/stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale 770 1200
22 Or Yafo 1999 Yafo Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale U.F. 35
21 Noa Yafo 1999 Yafo Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale U.F. 42
20 Shiqma Yalo 1978 Shiqma Sand Shoreline sandstone Gas Stratigraphic Saqiye Group Yafo shale 1.4 -1.4
Miocene 19 Aphrodite Tamar 2011 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 3000
18 Tanin Tamar 2011 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 600
17 Dolphin Tamar 2011 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 80
16 Leviathan Tamar 2010 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 17000
15 Dalit Tamar 2009 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 270
14 Tamar Tamar 2008 Tamar Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Saqiye Group Mavqiim Evaporites U.F. 9000
13* Amiaz Dead Sea 1990 Hazeva Sand Continental sandstone Heavy oil Structural Mt. Scopus Group Sedom Evaporites
Late Cretaceous 12 Sadot Yafo 1977 Judea Shelf carbonate Gas Structural Saqiye Group Saqiye Shale –30 –30
7* Yam Yam 1989 Gevaram Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Unknown Gevaram shale
Early 8* Yam Yafo Yam 1994 Gevaram Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Unknown Gevram shale
Cretaceous 10* Yam West Yam 1994 Gevaram Sand Turbidite sandstone Gas Structural Unknown Gevaram shale
9 Gurim Dead Sea 1983 Hatira Sand Continental sandstone Heavy oil Structural Mt. Scopus Group Judea Carbonate 0.009 –0.009
5 Helez Helez 1955 Helez Shoreline sandstone Oil Structural/stratigraphic Barnea Formation Talme Yafe marl 17.4 19
Late Jurassic 5 Helez Helez 1955 Nir'am Shelf carbonate Oil Structural Barnea Formation Talme Yafe marl 17.4 19
8* Yam Yafo* Yam 1994 Carbonate gravity-flow Oil Structural Unknown Gevaram shale
Middle Jurassic 7* Yam Yam 1989 Carbonate gravity-flow Oil Structural Unknown Gevaram shale
6 Ashdod Helez 1976 Zohar Shelf carbonate Oil Structural Barnea Formation Kidod shale 0.213 1
5 Helez Helez 1964 Brur Shelf carbonate Oil Structural Barnea Formation Gevaram shale 17.4 19
4 Zohar/Kidod/Kanaim Dead Sea 1957 Zohar Shelf carbonate Gas Structural Mt. Scopus Group Kidod shale 73 –73
Late Triassic 3 Meged Meged 1994 Mohilla Shelf carbonate Oil Structural Unknown Mohila anhydrite 0.13 2.2
Middle 1 Emunah Dead Sea 1995 Gevanim Shoreline Sandstone Oil Structural Mt. Scopus Group Mohila anhydrite 0.013 –0.013
Triassic 2 Zuk Tamrur Dead Sea 1994 Raaf Shelf carbonate Oil Structural Mt. Scopus Group Mohila anhydrite 0.13 –0.15
Permian 1* Emunah Dead Sea 1995 Saad/Arkov Continental sandstone Oil Structural Mt. Scopus Group Arkov shale

The 60-year-old story of Israel’s petroleum industry is one of many rises and falls. Periods of drilling success were followed by dry wells and suspension of exploration activity, at times influenced by geopolitical instability, unfavorable fiscal regime, and lack of capital investment. Once government owned, the three Israeli oil companies, INOC (Israel National Oil Company), Naphta, and the Lapidoth Oil Prospectors, were fully privatized during the 1990s.

The recent, offshore drilling success has attracted major capital investment and has resulted in a surge of exploration activity (Figure 2) with the participation of internationally based oil companies. In the coming decade new targets will be drilled in the Levantine Basin offshore Israel which may lead to an increase in gas reserves and possibly prove the potential for the production of oil, previously discovered in several offshore wells (Figure 1). For the first time in its history, Israel has the prospect of supplying its own energy needs and even becoming an exporter of natural gas.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nissenbaum, A., 1978, The Dead Sea asphalts - Historical aspects: AAPG Bulletin, v. 62, p. 837–844.
  2. ↑ Rullkötter, J. and A. Nissenbaum, 1988, Dead Sea asphalt in Egyptian mummies: Molecular evidence: Naturwissenschaften, v. 75, p. 618–621.

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