large amount of oil reservoir have been found on the Golan Heights. Israeli energy company Afek, a subsidiary of American company Genie Energy, officially revealed on Monday.
Three drillings have so far taken place in the southern Golan Heights and the company requested permission to drill additional wells in the area.
“Initial findings from the drilling confirm the discovery of an oil reservoir in the Golan and further justifies continuing the exploration program, ” said the request. “We need more time for this.”
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Afek Oil and Gas chief geologist Dr. Yuval Bartov told Channel 2 News, “We are talking about a strata which is 350 meters thick and what is important is the thickness and the porosity. On average in the world strata are 20-30 meters thick, so this is ten times as large as that, so we are talking about significant quantities. The important thing is to know the oil is in the rock and that’s what we now know.”
the company said that there was evidence of hydrocarbons, which proposed the presence of oil or gas in some form, and that the results match the geological theory the company was using.
The company said the potential production is billions of barrels, which will easily provide all Israel’s oil needs. Israel consumes 270, 000 barrels of oil per day.
Despite the company’s announcement, until actual production is attempted at the site, there is no way to know the size of the reservoir – or whether the reservoir is one that could produce oil in an economically viable way and what the quality of the oil is.
The drilling on the Golan Heights has aroused fierce opposition from social and environmental groups who fear irreversible damage to the region’s natural landscapes. If it is proven that the site is appropriate for producing oil efficiently, a long debate is likely to rise how much it might endanger the entire region and the Sea of Galilee.
