US Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Danish partner Maersk Oil have been awarded exploration rights over Block 403c/e in Algeria's third licensing round. This increases Anadarko's gross acreage under contract in the Berkine Basin by around 400,000 acres to four million acres.
Anadarko and Maersk Oil expect to enter into a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Algeria’s Sonatrach within 15 days. Under terms of the PSA, Anadarko and Maersk Oil will shoot a minimum of 200 kilometers of 2D seismic and drill one exploration well during the first three-year period. Anadarko will hold a 67 percent interest in the venture, while Maersk Oil will take a 33 percent stake.
"This year will see Anadarko and its partners resume exploration drilling in Blocks 404 and 208 and undertake seismic activity on Block 406b, which Anadarko was awarded in Algeria's second license round in October," stated Managing Director of Anadarko Algeria, Tony Meyer.
This past April, the fourth and final train at the Hassi Berkine South oil field's Central Processing Facility (CPF) began production five months ahead of schedule, increasing capacity to 285,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd); and cumulative production through the CPF surpassed 100 million barrels of oil in May.
Additional facilities with a total capacity of 230,000 barrels per day are currently under construction at the Ourhoud field, the second largest oil field in Algeria. Production is expected to commence at Ourhoud in early 2003.
Anadarko has been operating in Algeria since 1990 and made its first discovery in 1993. The Hassi Berkine area is located in Block 404 of the Berkine Basin and includes the Hassi Berkine South, Hassi Berkine and Satellite fields.
Anadarko Algeria Company LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. Anadarko is one of the largest independent exploration and production companies in the world. The company reported average daily production of 546,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2001.
Anadarko‘s US operations are located in Texas, Louisiana, the Mid-Continent and Western states regions, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Internationally, it is producing in Canada, Algeria and Qatar and exploring in several other countries. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
