Tunisia: Hammamet W-3 On Course For Dec 2012

Australian operator Cooper Energy has secured a drilling rig for its Hammamet West-3well on the Bargou exploration permit, offshore Tunisia.
The Bargou joint venture, with Cooper as operator signed a letter of intent with Romanian Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) for the use of the jackup rig “GSP Jupiter” to drill thewell which is scheduled to spud in December 2012.
HammametWest-3 is being drilled to further assess the oil resource within the Abiod formation. Cooper intends to drill the well to penetrate the reservoir with a slightly deviated pilot hole. A highly deviated wellbore will then be drilled and tested, to confirmthe oil productivity of the formation.
A secondary target in the Hammamet West-3 well is the Birsa sandstone. Hammamet West-3’s target for the Abiod formation is around 101 million barrels of contingent resources, according to a presentation published by Cooper on July 9, 2012. The well’s target for the Birsa sandstone is approximately 10million barrels of contingent resources.
“Hammamet West-3 is a relatively low risk well targeting a very large potential resource,” FinnCap’s research director William Arnstein told Rigzone on Monday.
The field lies in 164 feet (50meters) ofwater, about 7.5miles (12 kilometers) fromthe Tunisian coast. Cooper operates the permit with a 30 percent interest. UAE-based Dragon Oil and Australian Jacka Resources hold a 55 percent and 15 percent stake respectively.