Anadarko plans field development in Algeria

A group led by a unit of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, plans a staged oil field development program on a large block in the Algerian Sahara Desert.

Anadarko Algeria Corp. and partners submitted draft documentation supporting the program to Algeria's state owned Sonatrach.

The group is to apply soon for provisional exploitation authorization (PEA) for Stage I development. It will continue to seek exploitation licenses on the fields.

Terms of the PEA are to call for early production from wells drilled in the Hassi Berkine (HBN) and Hassi Berkine South (HBNS) areas on Block 404 in the Ghadames basin. Stage I production would amount to about 40,000 b/d beginning in late 1996.

Anadarko Algeria estimates Stage I spending will amount to about $210 million. Full scale development is expected to cost about $1 billion, with operating costs averaging less than $2.25/bbl.

Block 404 is one of four tracts covering 3.8 million acres included in a 1989 production sharing agreement (PSA) between Sonatrach and operator Anadarko Algeria, along with partners Lasmo Oil (Algeria) Ltd. and Maersk Olie Algeriat AS. The PSA areas are in the Ghadames and Illizi basins, about 400 miles south of Algiers.

Reserves, well results

Earlier this year, partners in the Algerian acreage projected initial development would occur in HBN and East Berkine fields (OGJ, Mar. 27, p. 32). However, results of recent delineation drilling have prompted the group to increase its estimate of reserves in the area and refocus part of its initial development effort on HBNS.

Anadarko Algeria now estimates reserves of the group's PSA acreage at 1.5 billion bbl of oil and condensate. The company attributes most of the revision to results of the 2 HBNS and 4 HBN delineation wells.

According to partners' reports, 2 HBNS flowed 3,631 b/d of oil and 3.9 MMcfd of gas through a 12 in. choke with 1,081 psi flowing tubing pressure. The flow came from 21 ft of net pay in an 82 ft Triassic sandstone interval at an undisclosed depth above 11,155 ft total depth.

Pressure tests confirmed communication and reservoir continuity between 2 HBNS and the group's 1 HBNS discovery well, about 4 miles southwest. The 1 HBNS wildcat flowed 16,000 b/d of oil and 17.8 MMcfd of gas from 85 ft of net pay.

Anadarko Algeria and partners declared 4 HBN a dry hole after the 11,237 ft well cut 66 ft of water saturated Triassic sand. The group drilled 4 HBN 3.3 miles from 1 HBN and structurally downdip to determine the limits of the field.

Although 4 HBN was dry, partners plan to case the hole for possible future use as an injection well.

The Anadarko group with its latest successes has reported combined well tests on Algerian PSA acreage amounting to more than 86,400 b/d of oil and condensate and about 182.3 MMcfd of gas. Copyright 1995 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.