Offshore exploration on the Total-led al-Jurf acreage has been suspended for safety reasons, says Wintershall director Martin Bachman. The A1-16/3 exploration well, which began drilling on the concession at the end of 2013 was “plugged and temporarily abandoned in August 2014,” according to Total’s recently-released 2014 Annual Report. “It was mainly an issue of safety,” said Mr Bachmann. “The offshore drilling operation depended on emergency response infrastructure that was based onshore. The operator has decided to suspend activity, with our full support.”
This contrasts with the Eni-led Mellitah consortium, which late last month announced a gas and condensate discovery on its nearby Bouri acreage, also offshore. The A1-1/1 well tested the Bouri North exploration prospect on Area D, also known as NC-41, 140km northwest of Tripoli near the maritime border with Tunisia in 125ms water depth and 20km north of the 40,000 b/d Bouri field, which in turn is around 40km northeast of al-Jurf. (CONTINUED - 282 WORDS)
