PCIAC EXPANDS EXPLORATION ASSIST TO JORDAN

March 19, 1990
Petro-Canada International Assistance Corp. (Pciac) has extended for 2 years a technical assistance project in Jordan. The $15 million extension boosts Pciac's commitment to Jordan's Natural Resources Authority (NRA) to a total of as much as $47 million in goods and services drawn mainly from the western Canadian petroleum industry. The added funds will provide equipment, training, advisers, and technical support for NRA's hydrocarbon exploration programs.

Petro-Canada International Assistance Corp. (Pciac) has extended for 2 years a technical assistance project in Jordan.

The $15 million extension boosts Pciac's commitment to Jordan's Natural Resources Authority (NRA) to a total of as much as $47 million in goods and services drawn mainly from the western Canadian petroleum industry.

The added funds will provide equipment, training, advisers, and technical support for NRA's hydrocarbon exploration programs.

A Canadian drilling rig and associated equipment, including critical spare parts and a field maintenance and machine shop, will be donated to Jordan during 1990. Canadian drilling advisers will be posted to Jordan for 18 months starting next month to work with NRA to assist management and field operations.

Advisers will use seismic data acquired by Pciac's Canadian contractors on behalf of NRA covering the Risha and Sirhan areas to help direct development and delineation of hydrocarbon structures.

Studies also will be conducted to determine the reserves of Risheh gas field in Northeast Jordan and advise on how best to further enhance its production (OGJ, Nov. 9, 1987, p. 32).

The extension will include assistance in computerization of data storage and retrieval, a Jordan-wide project to interpret all gravity and magnetic data, and assistance to the geochemical and core analysis functions.

More assistance will be provided for evaluation of well results from the authority's drilling programs, with emphasis on training and technology transfer.

Pciac and NRA signed an initial agreement worth $19.1 million in March 1987, and Pciac committed a further $13 million late in 1988 (OGJ, Dec. 12, 1988, p. 29).

A Canadian company under contract to Pciac has acquired 4,600 line km of seismic data in the Risha, Sirhan, and western highlands areas of Jordan. Canadian geophysical companies have processed those and other data in Calgary.

Pciac assigned a team of geologists and geophysicists to Amman to assist in interpretation and training. Several drillsites in the Sirhan area have been identified.

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