Noble Energy has won approval to drill an additional well, Leviathan-7, at its giant Leviathan project offshore Israel, alongside the Leviathan-5 well, in a move that aims to streamline operations and reduce drilling costs, Noble's partner Delek Group announced today (14 March).

According to Delek, Noble will drill Leviathan-7, a development and production well, with the Atwood Advantage ultra-deepwater drillship.

Noble's plan is to drill Leviathan-7 “in a batch” with the Leviathan-5 well, to streamline and reduce the cost of the drilling of these two wells, Delek says.

The first stage of the drilling consists of the upper part of the Leviathan-7 well to be drilled to a depth of about 2900m below sea level.

At the second stage, the Atwood Advantage drilling rig will be moved to the Leviathan-5 well site, where it will drill the well to a final depth of some 5200m below sea level.

At the third stage, the drilling rig will be returned to the Leviathan-7 well site, where it will drill the lower part of this well to a final depth of approximately 5100m below sea level.

Leviathan-7 is in the I/14 Leviathan South and I/15 Leviathan North leases, some 120km west of Haifa at 1630m water depth. The well will target pay in the Oligo-Miocene layers.

The Atwood Advantage is currently working at the Tamar-8 development and production well, which is expected to be completed, including completion and connection to the production system, in the coming weeks. Drilling will begin at the Leviathan wells immediately following Tamar-8 completion activities. Delek says it should take approximately seven months to drill Leviathan-5 and 7, excluding completion and connection to the production system.

Noble has received the approvals required from the Israeli Commissioner and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, including for a drilling plan for the first stage for a piping permit, and for a pre-drilling environmental impact assessment survey.