Mazarine Energy and ETAP have discovered 38 metres of net oil-bearing reservoir in well Cat-1 well in the Zaafrane permit in central Tunisia.

The main objective of well Cat-1 was to test the hydrocarbon potential of the Ordovician El Hamra and El Atchane Formations. Extensive logging and sampling proved the El Hamra and El Atchane sands to contain 19 metres and 19 metres of net pay respectively.

During a production test, the Cat-1 well flowed, constrained by surface facilities, at a rate of 4,300 barrels of oil per day and 395,000 cubic metres of natural gas per day.

“We are delighted to announce the first discovery in the Zaafrane permit,” said Edward van Kersbergen Mazarine Energy executive chairman.  “The Cat-1 well is not only a success in its own right; it also upgrades the resource potential of a string of prospects in this large permit, notably DGH-1, our next well in the sequence,We look forward to the fast-track development of this discovery.”

The Cat-1 well is the first well in a two-well drilling campaign. The Zaafrane permit spans an area of 5,168 square kilometres within a historically prolific oil- and gas producing region. Mazarine Energy is the operator of the Zaafrane permit, with ETAP and MEDEX as partners. The well was drilled by CTF (Compagnie Tunisienne de Forage) to a total depth of 3,950 metres.

Source: Oil and Gas Technology