Heletz oil field
{{Short description|Oil field in Israel}}
{{Infobox oilfield
| name = Heletz oil field
| country = {{flag|Israel}}
| region = Southern District
| location = Heletz
| block =
| offonshore = Onshore
| location_map = Israel
| location_map_width =150px
| location_map_text = Location of the Heletz oil field within Israel
| coordinates_ref =
| coordinates = {{coord|31|34|11.1|N|34|36|57.13|E|type:landmark_region:IL|display=inline,title}}
| operator = Avenue Energy
| operators =
| partners =
| image =
| caption =
| discovery = 1955
| start_development = 1955
| start_production = 1960
| peak_year =
| abandonment =
| oil_production_bbl/d =
| oil_production_tpy =
| production_year_oil =
| production_gas_mmcuft/d =
| production_gas_mmscm/d =
| production_gas_bcm/y =
| production_year_gas =
| est_oil_bbl = 94.4
| est_oil_t = 12.9
| est_gas_bft =
| est_gas_bcm =
| formations =
}}
Heletz oil field is an Israeli oil field discovered in 1955.
History
The Petroleum Development (Palestine) Ltd., an exploration subsidiary of the Iraq Petroleum Company had drilled a 3,464 feet hole near Hulayqat in 1947-1948, before they left Mandatory Palestine in February 1948 because of the conflict. Lapidoth Israel Oil Co. and Israel Oil Prospectors, Ltd. deepened the hole and struck oil (30° gravity crude) at 4,906 feet on September 22, 1955. A second pay was found just 40 feet below in October 1955. The well was Israels first producing oil well. David Ben Gurion visited the new well. The Oil and Gas Journal printed an overview of exploration activity across Israel in the 1955-10-03 issue.{{cite magazine |magazine=The Oil and Gas Journal |volume=54 |issue=22 |date=3 October 1955 |title=Oil Found in Israel |page=96 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_oil-gas-journal_1955-10-03_54_22/page/96/mode/1up}}https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iraq_Petroleum_Company&oldid=1270568714#IPC_Group_operations_outside_Iraq{{cite magazine |magazine=The Oil and Gas Journal |volume=54 |issue=24 |date=17 October 1955 |title=New Pay in Israel |page=108 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_oil-gas-journal_1955-10-17_54_24/page/108/mode/1up}}
A 4-mile 8-inch pipeline was completed in early April 1956, accompanied by 2 elevated 750 ton tanks at the field, from where the oil flowed by gravity at a rate of 40 tons per hour (ca. 7,000 barrels per day) to the nearby railhead at Beit Shikma, from where it was shipped to the Haifa refinery, replacing the previous mode of transport by tanker trucks. At that time, the Heletz No. 3 well had struck oil.{{cite news|newspaper=The Australian Jewish Herald|date=6 April 1956|page=2|title=Helez Pipeline Completed|url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/newspapers/austjewisherald/1956/04/06/01/article/19/?srpos=13&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxTI-pipeline-------------1}}
By June 1957, the field was producing at a rate of 2,000bbl/d from 12 producing wells. A new well 2 miles southeast of Heletz No. 10 (the most southeasterly well in the field) struck oil near Broor Haiel at 4,990 feet,{{cite magazine |magazine=The Oil and Gas Journal |volume=55 |issue=24 |date=17 June 1957 |title=New Well Lifts Israel's Hope |page=120 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_oil-gas-journal_1957-06-17_55_24/page/120/mode/1up}} Another well 2,600 feet northwest of the new discovery (and closer to Heletz No. 10) had been a dry hole.{{cite magazine |magazine=The Oil and Gas Journal |volume=55 |issue=25 |date=24 June 1957 |title=New Israel Pool |page=120 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_oil-gas-journal_1957-06-24_55_25/page/120/mode/1up}}
Natural gas was found 11 miles south of Heletz in late August or early September 1957. Upon discovery a flame erupted and reached a height of 120 feet and burned for 24 hours.{{cite magazine |magazine=The Oil and Gas Journal |volume=55 |issue=36 |date=9 September 1957 |title=Israelis Find Gas |page=80 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_oil-gas-journal_1957-09-09_55_36/page/80/mode/1up}}
Heletz is one of the biggest on-shore oil fields in Israel. It began production in 1960 and produces oil. Its oil proven reserves are about {{convert|94.4|Moilbbl}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.energy-pedia.com/article.aspx?articleid=141046|title=Avenue enters into LOI for the development of the Heletz field|date=June 30, 2010|publisher=energy-pedia.com|accessdate=2 January 2011}}