ALGERIA SCHEDULES ONSHORE LICENSING ROUND

Algeria's Sonatrach will conduct its first international onshore exploration licensing round in a move designed to triple drilling activity in the country. A second round will follow next April. Sonatrach plans to drill 200 wells during 1991-95, which will require the current level of 37/year to be almost trebled toward the end of the period. To this end foreign operators are being courted in an open exploration bidding round.

Aug. 17, 1992

2 min read

Algeria's Sonatrach will conduct its first international onshore exploration licensing round in a move designed to triple drilling activity in the country.

A second round will follow next April.

Sonatrach plans to drill 200 wells during 1991-95, which will require the current level of 37/year to be almost trebled toward the end of the period. To this end foreign operators are being courted in an open exploration bidding round.

Deadline for bid submittal is Nov. 30. Companies may enter singly or in groups to form partnerships with Sonatrach. Foreign licensees will be able to take a maximum 49% of production under Algerian law.

The foreign company will act as operator and bear all exploration costs. If a discovery is made, the costs will be amortized. Dry hole costs may be recovered in the event of a later commercial strike.

Purchase of data packages is a prerequisite of bidding.

DATA PACKAGES

TGS-Calibre Geophysical Co., Houston, is marketing seismic and well data for Blocks 214, 407, and 409-410b. The data packages include 30% of available seismic data and well completion logs.

Block 409 lies alongside Hassi R'Mel, whose 84.5 tcf reservoir makes it one of the world's largest gas fields.

IEDS, Tetbury, U.K., is marketing data packs for Blocks 210, 235b, 413, 414, and 415b. Blocks 210 and 235b lie in the Ghadames basin. This, says IEDS, is one of the least explored areas of the region but highly prospective.

Blocks 413, 414, and 415b lie in the Dahar Depression, which contains several producing fields in difficult terrain.

As with the TGS data, each package contains 30% of available seismic and basic well records.

Minimum work programs will be detailed in the packs, along with model contracts, Algerian Petroleum legislation, and bidding instructions.

SECOND ROUND

TGS is also marketing a data pack that will allow prospective licensees to have some input on which blocks will be available in the second round. The blocks will be in Sonatrach Districts 8 and 9.

IEDS also has second round information. Its Tindouf basin introductory pack outlines 12 blocks that will be offered for bidding. Information on four other blocks, 108, 128b, 443b, and 444, which are almost certain to be made available, also has been compiled.