An exploration probe in frontier deep waters offshore Israel adjacent to a major discovery offshore Cyprus has encountered “significant” gas shows, according to the well operator AGR Petroleum Services of Norway.

The Aphrodite-2 well reached a total depth of 5,652 m (18,544 ft), in a water depth of 1,707 m (5,601 ft). The well is located in the Ishai Licence, adjacent to Noble Energy’s own 7 Tcf Aphrodite discovery in Block 12 offshore Cyprus. Based on examinations performed during the drilling, “significant signs of hydrocarbons” (natural gas) were found in the lower Miocene sands, said AGR.

The net thickness of the natural gas-bearing layer is approximately 15 m (49 ft), it added.

No production tests have yet been performed. The rig has completed drilling the well and is expected to plug and abandon it in the next two weeks. After completing the well, the operator will perform processing and evaluation of the information collected while drilling and logging, it added.

Pre-drill estimates by Ryder Scott Company LP for the Ishai licence have been put at up to 3.7 Tcf of gas.