$176-million Yam 3 Well Comes Up Dry
'We're quite disappointed,' says former Israel Defense Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who led the drill.
Shemen Oil & Gas, the energy exploration company led by former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Askenazi, learned on Sunday that its $176-million Yam 3 well, off the coast near Ashkelon, is a dry hole.
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"We're quite disappointed," Ashkenazi said. "After a deep drilling in a challenging environment, both from a regulatory and security point of view, we reached the target stratum. We're talking about one of the deepest drillings in the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately we didn't find any oil."
Ashkenazi said the partners would decide on their next steps after all the data are analyzed.
Shemen said it would perform production tests at the site to determine how much oil is available for pumping at its Yam 3 oil rig.Credit: Dubi Tal