Middle East: Others

MIDDLE EAST

Dr. A. F. Alhajji, Contributing Editor

Others

Bahrain. To improve the efficiency of the country’s oil sector, an Amiri decree at the end of 1999 merged Bahrain National Oil Co. (Banoco) and Bahrain Petroleum Co. (Babco) into the new entity, Bahrain Petroleum Co.

Last August, Bahrain signed an agreement with Texaco, to study the potential for oil and gas in the country’s onshore and offshore areas. Early this year, Western Geophysical started seismic work in the northern and western areas of Bahrain for Chevron, which signed an agreement with Bahrain in 1998 to explore these areas.

The Persian Gulf Click for enlarged view

There were 30 wells drilled in 1999, up from 19 in 1998. Footage totaled 90,274, nearly double the 47,500 ft drilled in 1998. The forecast this year is for 31 wells, including two offshore. The number of active producing oil wells was 419 last year.

Oil production declined slightly, to 37,439 bpd from 37,647 bpd in 1998. Most of this decline came from Awali field. Condensate output rose a small amount, to 5,210 bpd.

Bahrain produced 879 MMcfgd in 1999, a slight increase from the 1998 level. Nationwide reserves stand at 136.4 million bbl of oil and 3.6 Tcf of gas.

Sharjah. Last October, the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi, established the Sharjah Petroleum Council. This new body will be responsible for managing the affairs of this small emirate’s oil industry. Sultan Qasimi also abolished the Sharjah Department of Petroleum and Minerals, which had been established in 1972.

BP Amoco Sharjah is drilling two new wells in 2000, to increase natural gas and condensate production. The company produces 30,000 bcpd and 650 MMcfgd from three fields.

Late last year, Crescent Petroleum and its partner, Atlantis Holding Norway, announced that significant quantities of hydrocarbons had been discovered at the Sharjah 2 well offshore. The well tested at a restricted rate of 39 MMcfgd and was predicted to eventually test 50 MMcfgd. The field may have recoverable reserves of 500 Bcf of natural gas.

Israel. New discoveries, though small, proved commercial and prompted the country to step up its quest for oil and gas. Reports indicate that the new discoveries may meet Israel’s short-term, natural gas demand for the next 15 years. Given this recent development, the government is planing to introduce a new oil and gas law, since the old 1950s laws are no longer relevant.

Samedan Mediterranean, a Noble affiliates unit, confirmed the Noa 1 gas discovery offshore Israel last June with the Noa South 1 appraisal. The new location is two miles south of the initial discovery well and eight miles west of Mari B field, which was discovered earlier this year. The Noa 1 tested 30 MMcfgd and Noa South 1 is expected to perform better than the initial well. Recoverable reserves in the area are estimated at 200 Bcf of gas at Noa and more than 1.3 Tcf of gas in the greater Noa / Mari B area.

Mari B1 also was discovered by Samedan last March and tested 33 MMcfgd. The company expects the new field to produce more than 100 MMcfgd, once it is developed. British Gas (BG) announced a gas discovery in October 1999, when Or 1 tested 21 MMcfgd.

Israel awarded more than 4,000 sq mi of offshore exploration permits. Most of these went to BG; others went to Isramco and Samedan. According to the agreement, BG will spend $10 million. However, after its Or 1 find last year, BG decided to spend an additional $1.5 million to acquire 195 sq mi of 3-D seismic data and interpret the results.

Proven oil reserves are estimated at 3.9 million barrels with production of less than 100 bpd. Due to the new discoveries, natural gas reserves have grown to 470.2 Bcf.

Jordan. Despite a smooth transition into power after his father’s death, King Abdullah reshuffled his cabinet again early this year and appointed Wa’il Sabri as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, replacing Sluliman Abu Alim. Jordan’s economic growth is expected to increase after liberalization of investment and trade that qualified the country to join the World Trade Organization last April.

Due to a lack of good crude oil prospects, Jordan is trying to focus its attention on small gas and oil shale deposits. Last April, Jordan’s petroleum company issued a tender for development of Risha gas field near the Iraqi border. The deadline was set for July 31, 2000. The winner was slated to be announced within eight weeks from the date of submission. Recent reports indicate that several U.S. companies are interested in the project. With electricity demand increasing 7% annually, natural gas is expected to play a leading role in power generation. Risha field produced 36 MMcfgd last year.

Late last year, Calgary-based Suncor Energy was granted a 12-month period to negotiate a project, to develop oil shale reserves in the Lejjun area of southern Jordan. The objective is to produce 17,000 bopd during the project’s first phase. Output would increase in the second phase, to 67,000 bopd within five years and 210,000 bopd after eight years.

Umm al Quwain. During April 2000, Norway’s Atlantis Holding Co. signed a concession agreement with the local government. The pact allows Atlantis to explore, onshore and offshore, over about 890 sq mi. The firm is obligated during two years to shoot 309 sq mi of 3-D seismic and drill one pilot well.