Project Profile
Value: US$100 million
Location: Chorbane, central Tunisia near the port city of Sfax, Tunisia
Area: 1,940 sq. km
Start-up Year: 2015
The Chorbane Exploration Permit is located mainly onshore in central Tunisia. In 2016, Gulfsands was granted a two year extension on its license for the Chorbane block, in Tunisia. The extended contract will run until the 12th July 2017 and includes scope for 200km of 2-D seismic surveying and the drilling of at least one exploration well. The Chorbane block covers an area of 1,940 square kilometres in central Tunisia near the port city of Sfax. It is primarily an onshore permit, with some limited offshore plays. Gulfsands has identified a number of onshore prospects which would see the company drilling for light oil and wet gas.
The permit is relatively underexplored containing prospects and leads with multiple objectives, for both oil and gas. Chorbane is favourably located to infrastructure for both oil and gas export due to its proximity to a number of producing fields, oil and gas pipelines and the port of Sfax. The Chorbane acreage is located in the southwest part of the Pelagian Basin. Several proven petroleum systems are evidenced by fields adjacent to and on trend that produce or have tested oil, condensate and gas generated and trapped in Eocene to Jurassic age rocks. ADX has identified a number of attractive prospects.
The largest structure mapped and currently the most highly ranked prospect is the multi-reservoir Sidi Dhaher. Mean recoverable prospective resources are estimated by ADX to be 350 bcf and 7 MMbbl of condensate at the Jurassic level alone. In addition, the structure has significant closure at Eocene through to the Lower Cretaceous reservoirs that add significant upside and risk reduction to the prospect. Of special interest is the large closure (+25km2) at the Abiod reservoir level that is, in many respects, comparable to the Sidi-El Kilani field, which to date has produced approximately 50 MMbbl of oil from the same horizon and is on the same structural trend, approximately 30km north of the Sidi Dhaher Prospect.
Reprocessed seismic over the Sidi Dhaher Prospect has identified an Eocene (Metlaoui - El Gueria reservoirs) Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator (DHI) or flat spot that is conformable with structure which ADX interprets as indicative of trapped hydrocarbons. The DHI is a positive indication of good porosity; trap integrity and hydrocarbon generation, thereby significantly increasing the likelihood of a discovery. The most likely case resource estimates for the Metlaoui are – 175 bcf of gas with the possibility for an oil leg. The Sidi Dhaher prospect will be drilled during Q3 2011. ADX has secured farmouts to fund drilling costs for its retained interest.
Operators:
Gulfsands Petroleum: Operator with 100% participating interest
Contractor:
Challenger ltd: Drilling contractor
Dietswell: Provision of Sedlar-160 drilling rig