Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is upgrading Algeria's seismic interpretation capability as part of its agreement to explore highly prospective acreage in eastern Algeria.
Its Anadarko Algeria Corp. unit let contract to CogiSeis Development Inc. and Geophysical Development Corp., both of Houston, to install and operate a dedicated seismic processing center in Boumerdes, about 30 miles east of Algiers.
CogiSeis will install a Convex 210 computer system, and CDC will manage and operate the processing center. Project cost is not disclosed.
The center is part of Anadarko's plans to explore four blocks covering 5.3 million acres in the Ghadames and Illizi basins.
Anadarko and state owned Sonatrach signed a production sharing agreement in October 1989 covering Birkine Block 404a, El Merk Block 208, Sidi Yedda Block 211, and Garet Tessegt Block 245 (OGJ, July 3, 1989, p. 22).
Those blocks together cover about 8,000 sq miles of Sahara desert.
SEISMIC TROUBLESHOOTER
The seismic center will enable the companies to reprocess as much as 25,000 line km of existing data in addition to processing new data in the license area, said GDC Pres. Reg N. Neale.
An initial seismic acquisition and processing phase will cover a period of 3 years.
"We are basically providing technical services to Anadarko for 3 years, then it will be passed over to Sonatrach for them to operate," Neale said.
By combining a CogniSeis software package and CDC's customized programs, the companies hope to solve a wide range of geophysical problems caused by the Algerian terrain.
Those problems include similar primary and multiple velocities, long wavelength, low velocity layer thickness variations, and the implied depth conversion consideration, Neale said. The center will also correct seismic data for surface static caused by sand dunes, thus eliminating phantom structures common in such terrain. Some of the world's largest dunes, more than 1,100 ft high, are in Block 21 1.
In addition to the seismic center, Anadarko will establish office headquarters in Algiers and a field camp in Hassi Messaoud and build desert roads to remote drilling locations.
Anadarko plans to spend about $10 million in Algeria this year, mostly for mobilization, seismic, and drilling costs, and $100 million over 10 years, an Anadarko official said.
The company has hired a rig for the first initial wells and plans to spud the first well by yearend.
"The prospect that looked to be the farthest along as of last month was Block 404, but that decision has not been made yet," the official said.
NEW HYDROCARBON LAW
Advanced seismic processing capability is part of the deal that Anadarko hammered out with Sonatrach in exchange for the right to explore the four blocks, Anadarko said, It plans to shoot 500 line km of seismic in 1990.
The agreement would not have been possible if Algeria had not altered its hydrocarbon law in 1986 to provide foreign companies more control, the Anadarko official said.
Anadarko is the first U.S. company to sign an exploration contract under Algeria's new hydrocarbon law.
BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, signed an agreement with Sonatrach that has not been finalized, the Anadarko official pointed out.
Agip SpA of Italy was the first foreign firm to sign an exploration/development agreement under Algeria's new law. Agip's pact, signed in January 1988, covers Permits 403 and 407, where it tested a 5,000 b/d oil discovery in late 1986 (OGJ, Jan. 25, 1988, p. 38).
Spain's Cia. de Investigacion y Explotaciones Petroliferas also signed an exploration contract with Sonatrach in early 1988 (OGJ, Feb. 22, 1988, p. 66).
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