After a three-year break, French oil giant Total has started exploration at its A1-16/3 concession just east of the Libyan-Tunisian offshore territorial line in the Pelagian Basin and 85 kilometres north of Zuwara.
Drilling is being carried out by the rig Zagreb 1, owned by Croatian drilling contractors Crosco, and is expected to last 130 days, but if there is a discovery the rig could stay another month for production tests. The rig will then move to Concession A1-16/1, 30 kilometres northeast of Zuwara for an estimated 146 days. Again, if there is a discovery it could remain in place for another month for tests.
According to the report from Libya Herald, the cost of the exploration for the two new wells was estimated last year by Total at around $120-130 million. Further tests could add another $15 million.
The drilling, to 12,000 feet in the first well and 17,000 in the second, is not expected to be easy because of the geology. However, the area around the first concession has already been explored for both oil and gas and finds have been made. The area around the second well has never been explored.
(Source: Libya Herald)
