Malaysian oil firm Petronas is embarking on a gas drilling campaign in Algeria in the first quarter of 2003. The company will be excavating three exploration wells and one appraisal well in the Ahnet field in Algeria, following the completion of seismic surveys in the region.
Petronas’s new wells are expected to go on-stream by 2007. The venture will drill for potential recoverable gas reserves of 4.9 trillion cubic feet (tscf) of natural gas, spread over seven blocks, with a total area of 17,357 square kilometers.
In January 2001, Petronas signed a two billion dollar PSC with Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach for the onshore Ahnet block. Under the terms of the agreement, which is scheduled to run over 25 years, Petronas Carigali Overseas holds a 45 percent interest in the venture as the operator of the block, Gaz de France received a 25 percent share, and Sonatrach retained 30 percent of the block’s stakes.
Malaysia is the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after Indonesia and Algeria. PETRONAS owns majority interests in three LNG plants - two in operation and one still under construction - in Bintulu, Sarawak. Natural gas is supplied to the plants from the fields offshore Sarawak. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
