The Hermes gas field holds an estimated 7-15 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
By Debbie Reiss, World Israel News
As the Israeli security cabinet convened to discuss the terms of the U.S.-drafted deal that will determine the fate of the Karish gas field on Thursday, Greek gas producer Energean announced it had made a major discovery of natural gas in commercial quantities in waters offshore Israel.
The London-based company notified the Tel Aviv and London stock exchange that it had discovered more than 0.5 trillion cubic feet of gas at its Hermes exploration well.
Hermes is located southeast of the Karish field, the subject of the maritime dispute with Lebanon that is also powered by Energean. Last month, the company said the first gas from Karish would be delivered in a matter of weeks.
According to the oil and gas company, early estimates in the Hermes exploration indicate that there are between 7 and 15 billion cubic meters (BCM) of recoverable natural gas resources.
The company added that the Hermes discovery boosted the chances of finding gas in the nearby Poseidon and Orpheus structures.