British geological surveyor Spectrum has started a new phase of its 3-D survey of offshore oil and gas reserves, covering parts of four blocks involved in the first licensing round for exploration.
“This new survey covers approximately 2,200 square kilometers and the acquisition will be performed by Polarcus [a seismic exploration subcontractor] using its 12-streamer vessel Adira,” the company said in a statement.
The survey will cover the northern part of the Levantine Basin and margins located north of Spectrum’s recently completed 3,052 square kilometer 3-D survey, the company said.
“New survey lines fall within licensing blocks 1, 3, 5 and 6 of the first Lebanese offshore licensing round as announced by the Lebanese government,” it added.
The vessel is expected to finish by early June, the firm added.
“The final processed product will be available [to oil and gas companies] by the end of August, well in time before the closing of the first Lebanese licensing round in November 2013,” the statement said.
Spectrum reiterated that 2012 data indicated Lebanon’s offshore areas are potentially rich in gas.
“It also indicates large, simple structures with a compelling reservoir case, suggesting that exploration drilling should provide good results,” it said.
Last week a senior official at Spectrum told The Daily Star that fresh analysis of seismic data shows that tapping into Lebanon’s gas wealth might be easier than previously anticipated.
While two-dimensional data had initially showed that there is a single, deep gas-prone layer offshore Lebanon, similar to Tamar gas field offshore Israel, new data shows that there is a second, less-deep layer that could reduce the cost and time of tapping into the wealth.
The Daily Star
3 May
