MedcoEnergi returns to Tunisia with interest in eight working areas

Indonesia’s largest listed oil and gas company, PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk (MedcoEnergi) is looking to expand its global E&P operations in Tunisia, after buying a subsidiary of Toronto-listed Chinook Energy Inc with a participating interest in eight working areas.

MedcoEnergi previously held stakes in Tunisia's Durra concession and Anguid exploration area, but sold them off in 2011.

Welcomed back to Tunisia

"We have recently met with the government of Tunisia and they have shown their strong support in welcoming us back to Tunisia to pursue oil and gas exploration and production opportunities," MedcoEnergi CEO Lukman Mahfoedz said in a recent statement.

Upon completion of the acquisition, MedcoEnergi expects adding (proven and probable) reserves and oil and gas production by 12.3 million boe and 2800 boepd, respectively. It is anticipated that output from the assets will reach around 16 000 boepd in 2018.

Of the eight work areas, two are currently being developed, four are exploration areas and two are in production. Five of the blocks (Adam, Sud Remada, Bir Ben Tartar, Jenein and Borj El Khadra) are onshore in the Ghadames Basin, where MedcoEnergi has a participating interest in Libya Area 47. Three of the blocks are offshore (Cosmos, Hammamet and Yasmin) in the Pelagian Basin.

The deal is subject to approval from other partners in the blocks and the government of Tunisia and is valued at more than US$ 114 million.

MedcoEnergi’s operations

Last year, MedcoEnergi announced that recent political changes in Libya had delayed its US$ 900 million Area 47 project by two years to 2016.

The company currently has operations in Indonesia, Oman, Yemen, Libya, Papua New Guinea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Tunisian oil and gas

According to the EIA, Tunisia is a relatively small hydrocarbon producer. Oil production has been steadily declining from its peak of 120 000 bpd in the mid-1980s to 67 000 bpd in 2012. Tunisia produced 68 billion ft³ of dry natural gas in 2011.

Tunisia has two significant formations with potential for shale gas and shale oil located in the southern part of the country. The country has 23 trillion ft³ of technically recoverable shale gas resource and 1.5 billion bbls of technically recoverable shale oil resource.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/16062014/medcoenergi_returns_to_tunisia_with_interest_in_eight_working_areas/