Location in the Mediterranean

This photo is from Google Earth

Please  click  on the photos to enlarge them.

     This picture is from Google Earth. I added the latitude and longitude of our location in the Mediterranean along with two previous wells drilled here. We are drilling the Yam 3 and are west of Ashdod, Israel.

       A large storm passed through here over the past several days which included winds with 70 miles per hour gusts and seas with swells of 30’ to 40’. Basically we were shut down because it was too dangerous for the crews to be out on deck for fear of being blown overboard. From a previously posted picture, you can see that we are high over the sea so there wasn’t a chance one of the swells would come over the deck. The bottom of the rig is 65’ above the water. I am on the 4th floor of the living quarters so it was hard to determine how high the swells were getting.

Swells during the storm

     At the same time, the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was closed due to snow. Since we are at the same latitude as northern Florida, I’m sure it didn’t take much snow to close it down. The temperature here should be in the mid 60’s this time of year so it was quite a change.

     The person I am working with Tel Aviv said there were hundreds of abandoned umbrellas that had been turned inside out by the wind littering the streets.

Israeli coast at night

     Since the weather has improved, I took a picture of the coast line last night. It is hard to believe that we are 10 miles offshore when looking at the coast line. I can see Tel Aviv to the north east and directly east is Ashdod.