By Sara Toth Stub
Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
JERUSALEM--The Israeli partners of Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) in
the offshore Leviathan field on Wednesday distanced themselves from
comments made by the U.S. company about its estimated oil
potential.
Noble in a conference call with investors said it has increased
its estimate to 1.5 billion barrels of oil in the field, with an
additional 1.5 billion barrels of oil in a nearby Cyprus field it
also controls with Israeli partners.
Noble's Israeli partners--Delek Drilling Ltd. Partnership
(DEDR.L.TV), Ratio Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (RATI.L.TV),
Avner Oil Exploration Ltd. Partnership (AVNR.L.TV) and Alon Natural
Gas Exploration Ltd. (ALGS.TV)--said the new estimates weren't in
accordance with Israeli reporting regulations.
The requirements about how energy companies can publish reserve
estimates differ between the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which often
has more stringent requirements than the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, under which Houston-based Noble reports.
"These estimates were not published in accordance with the
partners or investors in the partners," the companies said in a
joint statement. "The publication of these estimates is not in
accordance with regulations."
The Leviathan field is estimated to contain about 19 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas and, prior to Noble's recent statement,
an unconfirmed amount of oil.
In 2010, Leviathan was the largest gas discovery in the world
and has the potential to secure Israel's gas needs for decades as
well as to bring billions into state coffers from exports.
At 1300 GMT, shares of Delek Drilling were 0.15 shekels lower,
or down 0.80%, at ILS18.55; Avner was down ILS0.034, or 1.05%, at
ILS3.21; and shares of Alon were flat at ILS69.12, in a higher
overall Tel Aviv market.
Write to Sara Toth Stub at realtimedesklondon@dowjones.com
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