Repsol-YPF SA has found oil with well A-1 in exploration block NC-186 of the Murzuq basin in the Sahara Desert, 800 km south of Tripoli.
The well encountered an oil column of undisclosed thickness in the Ordovician Hawaz sandstone formation and tested up to 2,500 b/d of 41� oil from a 3/4-in. choke.
Repsol operates blocks NC-186, NC-187, and NC-190. Other partners include OMV AG of Austria, TotalFinaElf SA of France, and Saga Petroleum Mabruk, an affiliate of Norwegian company Norsk Hydro SA.
Crude oil production from the Murzuq basin began in December 1996 from the El-Sharara field, in Block NC-115. That field, operated by Repsol Oil Operations on behalf of the Libyan National Oil Co., is producing more than 160,000 b/d of 44� oil, said Repsol.
The A-1 well lies 20 km from the El-Sharara field facilities, which have, said Repsol, enough spare capacity to process and export other oil production.
