By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 7 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp., state-owned Sonatrach, and partners Maersk Olie Algeriet AS and Italy's ENI SPA unit Lasmo Oil (Algeria) Ltd., Friday reported an oil discovery at the Hassi Berkine North East prospect on Block 404 in Algeria's Berkine basin.
The exploration well, HBNE-1, was drilled to a 3,300 m TD 5 km east of Hassi Berkine field. The well found 16 m of net oil pay in the TAGI reservoir and tested at 4,092 b/d of oil and 6.7 MMcfd of natural gas through a 36/64-in. choke at 2,201 psi flowing tubing pressure.
The discovery lies close to Anadarko's existing infrastructure in its core Hassi Berkine area, said Rex Alman, managing director, Anadarko Algeria Co. The company is "considering a number of development options for placing this discovery on production quickly and cost-effectively," he added.
HBNE is Anadarko's first successful well since resuming its exploration drilling program in Algeria in October 2002, the company said. The firm plans "a number of exploration wells" for this year. "Our latest exploration well, SFSW, spudded in mid-January. We have also acquired 1,031 km of 2D seismic data, which is being evaluated, and we continue to build up our prospect inventory," the company stated.
Since the production-sharing contract between Sonatrach and the Anadarko association was signed in 1989, the group has found more than 2 billion bbl of oil.