Israel Drills Big Gas Prospect

HERZLIYA, Israel—Oil companies in Israel, led by Texas-based Noble Energy Inc. this week are expected to start drilling one of the world’s most promising natural-gas prospects of recent years, according to executives.

Seismic surveys show the Leviathan prospect, located 135 kilometers, or about 84 miles, off Israel’s northern coast, may hold 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to supply all of Israel’s gas needs for 100 years.

If the exploratory drilling, which gets under way this week, confirms those figures, it could transform Israel, which has been dependent on fuel imports throughout its history, into an exporter of natural gas. It could also create local, regional and global political ripples.

Leviathan follows the 2009 discovery of Tamar, an offshore gas field containing 8 trillion cubic feet, which was the largest gas find in the world in 2009 and the largest ever for Israel.