The Reggane Nord consortium that includes RWE Dea has commenced development drilling at the gas project in the Algerian Sahara. 26 development wells are planned for the first drilling campaign. The start of gas production is scheduled for summer 2017.
The first development well KL-39 was spudded end of January, with KCA Deutag Rig T-211. It’s the first of a total of 26 development wells, which are planned to be completed during the first drilling campaign. Further production wells are foreseen in the course of the development of this project.
“We are delighted to reach this next stage in the project, after detailed preparation work with all partners over recent months,” said Christoph Schlichter, Senior Vice President Production North Africa of RWE Dea AG. “We are looking forward to a successful drilling campaign. The expected reserves of the project will make a significant contribution to the growth of Dea’s gas production in the years to come. That’s why we are pleased that the project is in time for start of production in summer 2017”, Schlichter remarked.
Among the 26 development wells 21 wells are expected to be drilled, completed and put on production until the first gas date. Another 5 wells are planned to be drilled and added to production afterwards. The production phase of the project is expected to span more than 25 years.
The Reggane Nord project comprises the gas fields of Reggane, Azrafil Sud-Est, Kahlouche, Kahlouche Sud, Tiouliline and Sali.
The Groupement Reggane-Nord (GRN) partners are RWE Dea AG with its 19.5%-share, the Algerian enterprise Sonatrach (40%), Repsol from Spain (29.25%), and Edison from Italy (11.25%).
In 2002, Dea started exploration activites in the concession area Reggane Nord together with partners Repsol (operator) and Edison with corresponding gas discoveries, which are now subject to development under the operation of GRN.
Algeria is the leading natural gas producer in Africa and an important natural gas supplier to Europe.
Petrofac secures strategic services agreements in Algeria
Posted On February 9th, 2015 - 12:45 pm | by Oil and gas press
Petrofac, the international oil & gas service provider, has entered into two strategic contract agreements with Algerian state-owned Sonatrach.
The first is a five year contract where Petrofac will be providing a range of multi-discipline engineering design and procurement services in support of Sonatrach’s upstream hydrocarbon development programme within the procedures that govern the tendering process. It is anticipated that the contract will cover the early definition of new projects, detailed engineering and services in support of project execution. Around 100 personnel will support the contract throughout its duration.
Under the terms of the second agreement, Petrofac has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sonatrach, committing both parties to establish an Algerian Joint Venture to undertake engineering and project execution of selected upstream and downstream developments. The Joint Venture is expected to be finalised by mid-2015 with first project activity in Q4 2015.
Building local capability and capacity through the transfer of knowledge, systems and processes and customised training is at the heart of both agreements; ensuring the development and mentoring of future generations so they have the skills to take Algeria’s oil and gas industry to the next level. The majority of engineering services will be delivered locally.
Craig Muir, Managing Director for Petrofac’s Engineering & Consulting Services business commented: “Our track record in Algeria extends more than 15 years and over that time we have had the opportunity to undertake many different types of work. From EPC projects at one end of the spectrum, through operations and maintenance and engineering services, underpinned by our strong local technical training capability. These two most recent agreements are excellent illustrations of our strategy in action: utilising our international capability to maximise in-country value in key areas of operations. This is an ideal opportunity to support our longer-term sustainability in-Algeria and we look forward to working with Sonatrach to deliver the wide variety of services that these agreements have the potential to offer.”