Greek firm Energean last year paid Noble and its Israeli partner Delek $148mn for the Karish and Tanin fields where Energean pegs contingent resources at 2.4 tcf-plus (MEES, 6 January). The price would be cheap but for the fact that there appeared no clear route to commercialization. Energean now says it plans to develop the field via the East Med’s first floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

It plans to file a development plan by May which will see 3-4 wells drilled to develop the larger Karish field, with Tanin developed via 2-3 wells as a second stage tie-in. Energean says it hopes to reach FID by the end of 2017 and have first gas by 2020. CEO Mathios Rigas has optimistically said gas from the two fields will compete with Noble and Delek’s Tamar gas field, Israel’s only current producer at 900mn cfd in Q4 after hitting record 978mn cfd in Q3. Gas supplies 60% of Israel’s power generation needs. But, while Israel is looking to raise this, the 10 tcf Tamar field could easily produce more, with Leviathan a clear second in line. (CONTINUED - 253 WORDS)