By Mohammed Jetutu, in Cairo
4,300BOPD is significant flow rate in a country that produces 60,000BOPD
Mazarine Energy has discovered 38 metres of net oil pay in two reservoirs in the Zaafrane permit in central Tunisia.
Extensive logging and sampling of Chouchet El Atrous-1 (Cat-1), as the probe is named, indicated 19 metre net oil pay in El Hamra and 19 metre net oil pay in El Atchane, both of which were the objective formations. The two reservoirs are Ordovician in age. The well flowed 4,300 BOPD and 395,000 cubic metres of natural gas per day during production test of one of the zones, constrained by surface facilities. It’s a significant flow rate in a country that produces only 60,000BOPD.
“The Cat-1 well is not only a success in its own right; it also upgrades the resource potential of a string of prospects in this large permit, notably DGH-1, our next well in the sequence,” said Edward van Kersbergen, Mazarine Energy’s executive chairman. “We look forward to the fast-track development of this discovery.”
Mazarine operates the Zaafrane permit with 45% interest. State hydrocarbon company ETAP (Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières) holds 50% and Tunisian private company MEDEX has 5%. The well was drilled by CTF (Compagnie Tunisienne de Forage) to a total depth of 3,950 metres.
The Cat-1 well is the first well in a two-well drilling campaign. The Zaafrane permit spans an area of 5,168 km2.
