BP Starts Drilling for Gas in Jordan's Risha Field

BP began drilling its first well in the Risha natural gas field in eastern Jordan, Reuters reported citing a company release.

The drilling follows two years of preparation and a "very successful 5,000 square km seismic acquisition programme in 2011", BP said.

The drilling exercise is likely to take three to four months to complete.

Jordan is expecting to get positive results in the gas field which will help cut dependence on oil imports, Reuters said. Risha, which was discovered in 1987, has not delivered encouraging exploration results in the past.

If the exploration leads to the discovery of large commercially viable reserves of natural gas, officials said BP would enter a second phase to invest billions of dollars in developing the field.

The government strategy calls for Risha to produce 330 million cubic feet of gas per day by 2015. The field has a current modest daily output of about 18 million cubic feet.