Project Profile
Value: Undisclosed
Location: Ouargla Province, Algeria
Start-up Year: 1996
Production: 20,000 bopd
Depth: 9,850 feet
Rhourde El Baguel (REB) is an oil field located in Ouargla Province. It was discovered in 1963 and was developed by BP-SONATRACH in 1996. It was estimated to have originally contained approximately 3 billion barrels of oil in place. API oil, is produced from a Cambrian formation at a depth of 9,850 feet. It is the second largest oil producer field in Algeria, REB\'s recovery rate declined to 18% by 1995.
In 1996, it was producing less than 25,000 b/d. On Feb. 15, 1996, Arco of the US (now part of BP) signed a US$1.3 billion with Algeria, 25-year PSC (Production Sharing Contract). In 1995 it paid a signature bonus of US$225 million and agreed to pay a US$300 million entrance fee. It was to invest in an EOR (Enhaced Oil recovery) system and further development, with 38 new wells to be drilled. BP after the acquisition of arco raised the field\'s output to a 85,000 b/d peak in early 2000 for few months by gas injection and encouraged by this success BP decided to increase the pressure of the injected gas to optimise the production, this led to a failure and cracks appeared inside the field. The production in 2012 is averaging 20,000 b/d. The EOR technique failed due to the existence of cracks in the bottom well rock formation which led to the loss of the majority of the oil reserves. Now BP and SH are going through an arbitration process regarding the objectives that were initially set in the PSC.
Operators:
BP: Operator with 30% interest
SONATRACH: 70% interest