HOUSTON -- ATP Oil & Gas Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary ATP East Med B.V. ("ATP East Med") have initiated drilling at the Shimshon well in the Levant Basin of offshore Israel with the Ensco 5006 drilling unit. The Shimshon well is in a water depth of 3,622 feet with a target depth of 14,764 feet. After spudding, several protective casing strings will be set until the well has penetrated the salt layer. A full set of electric logs will be run at total depth to assist in evaluation of target reservoirs. ATP expects to announce results during the third quarter of 2012. Most of the ATP drilling has been in the Gulf of Mexico but the company realized last year that they needed to drill in less politically risky areas.
"With the recent discoveries in the Levant Basin already exceeding 35 Tcf, the Basin is a prolific area for natural gas exploration efforts," said T. Paul Bulmahn, ATP Chairman and CEO.
US consumption of natural gas is about 25 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) per year