For the first time in over 8 years, a new natural gas discovery was announced in the economic maritime borders of the State of Israel; the well was given the name “Katlan”, which translates into "Orca". The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, MK Israel Katz, gave Mathios Rigas, CEO of the Greek-British company “Energean”, the approval of the oil commissioner, Chen Bar Yosef, for reaching a natural gas discovery, along with the proper licensing. This means that Energian will be able to move forward with the development plan that will eventually include five gas reservoirs in Israel; Tamar, Leviathan, Karish, Tanin, and the new Katlan reservoir.
According to the company's estimates, this is a discovery that contains about 68 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of natural gas which is less than a tenth of the Leviathan reservoir for comparison.
A new natural gas reservoir was discovered off the coast of Israel - its name is Katlanhttps://t.co/8pyXzlJg38
— NEWSRAEL - The 24/7 Live FREE News App! (@NewsraelApp) June 1, 2023
It should be noted that these reports are not about finding new large quantities of natural gas in Israel, but another step on the way to extracting the gas from the area called Olympus, where the two additional reservoirs in the development of Energian Karish and Tanin are also located; both of which together contain about 100 BCM of natural gas.
The natural gas in Katlan was discovered as part of a drilling campaign carried out by the Energean company already in 2022, after receiving from the ministry the license to search for natural gas in this area as part of the first competitive procedure in 2018, and now as mentioned the company has received official permission from the Ministry of Energy to continue moving forward with the development plan.
Welcoming Katlan (orca) to the Energean family. What was the Olympus area has been formally recognised as a discovery by @Energy_IL - permitting the next steps in development towards production. #gas #energy #ONGT https://t.co/BvF7uXTqEA
— Energean (@Energean) May 31, 2023
The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Israel Katz, said: "The 'Katlan' rig discovered joins the existing natural gas reserves in our country, which have already changed the face of the local energy economy and turned the State of Israel into a global energy power. There is potential for additional discoveries in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, therefore, the office under my leadership will continue to develop the natural gas reserves that are in our territory and promote the finding of additional natural gas reserves for the energy security of the State of Israel and to ensure a reliable, clean and affordable Israeli energy economy."
Good news! A new offshore deposit of natural gas has been discovered in Israel. It's named Katlan ("Orca") and is estimated to hold approximately 68 billion cubic meters of gas.
— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) May 31, 2023
Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean, added: "We are happy and proud of the official announcement by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure about a gas discovery, following the latest exploration campaign carried out by Energian. On this occasion, we are excited to update on the granting of a Hebrew name to the storage cluster in Block 12, which will henceforth be called ‘Katlan’. The killer whale, a powerful marine mammal, is a symbol of determination and courage. We will start developing Katlan as soon as possible, and as efficiently as possible.”
