Does

Israel

have a new offshore energy reservoir?

Gas exploration partnerships Avner, Delek Drilling and Ratio reported Sunday that the Dolphin 1 drilling site, situated 110 kilometers off the coast of Haifa, is showing potential for the discovery of natural gas.

Drilling at the site commenced late August. The site is located within the Hanna license, adjacent to the Rachel and Amit licenses, both of which comprise the Leviathan site.

The drilling license was granted in December 2008 and is valid until mid December 2011.

Delek Drilling's survey reports indicate a 0.5 trillion cubic feet (TCB) estimated recovery, which is similar to the Dalit license and three times the annual consumption in Israel for 2010.

Prospects of the site yielding the estimated recovery are high, at 73%. At this stage it remains unclear whether preliminary findings do indeed corroborate the preliminary estimates.

Delek Drilling reported its plans to drill at site in its financial reports for the second quarter of 2011, aiming to take advantage of Sedco Express rig operating offshore Israel. Estimated drilling costs are $50 million.

Click here to read this report in Hebrew