Page 10 - MEOG Week 04 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

Tatweer prepares

for new oil deals

BAHRAIN BAHRAIN’S Tatweer Petroleum Co. expects nogaholding and shale-specialist Chevron call-
to soon sign exploration and production shar- ing for the US major to assist Tatweer in evaluat-
ing agreements (EPSAs) with international oil ing the basin. No further details on the terms of
companies as it seeks to monetise resources in the accord were disclosed.
the island’s offshore. Drilling by ENI in Block 1 had been due to
The move follows significant work carried out start in 2020, but was delayed on account of the
over the past two years by Tatweer to establish Covid-19 pandemic.
target areas through an advanced aerial geolog- In November, Tatweer’s director general of
ical survey of large swathes of land as well as a petroleum exploration and development, Yahya
high-resolution geophysical survey covering Al Ansari announced plans to drill eight new
most of its offshore and the drilling of explora- offshore wells to a depth of 8,000-13,000 feet
tory wells. (2,438-3,962 metres) and a horizontal extension
Data has now been processed with Tatweer of 914-3,000-plus metres.
understood to have identified several offshore He added: “We are talking about another
areas with significant potential for oil and gas major discovery with 80bn barrels, an oilfield
reserves. The company is now hoping to attract which requires a special infrastructure, trans-
investors to offshore blocks. mission pipelines and facilities, technology
Following the April 2018 discovery of the equipment to suit each drilling and production
offshore Khaleej Al Bahrain (KAB) field, the stage.”
government’s National Oil & Gas Authority Al Ansari also noted: “All this needs patience
(NOGA) – Tatweer’s parent – initiated talks with and meticulous planning. Such efforts will con-
IOCs, primarily those engaged in the US shale tribute to the kingdom’s growth and welfare of
industry, about developing the asset. KAB is esti- future generations.”
mated to hold 80bn barrels of tight oil. The onshore Awali field, the site of the GCC’s
Halliburton was contracted to carry out ini- first oil find in 1932, remains the kingdom’s sole
tial drilling and well tests in the 2,000-square km source of domestic production of around 46,000
area, with Italy’s ENI signing an EPSA in Janu- barrels per day.
ary 2019 to explore the 2,800 square km offshore Manama also receives a 50% share of the
Block 1 area to the north of the main island. 150,000 bpd produced by Saudi Aramco at the
In February 2020, the Italian firm signed an offshore Abu Sa’fah, which is pumped alongside
MoU with Tatweer to explore collaboration in a further 75,000 bpd of Arabian Light crude
various domains, including gas. from the Abqaiq processing facilities in Saudi
Three months later, a letter of intent (LoI) Arabia’s Eastern Province via the 350,000 bpd
was signed between NOGA’s investment arm Saudi-Bahrain A-B oil pipeline.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 27•January•2021