Niger settlement could kick off $55 million program

A $55 million exploration program on the 8.6 million acre Tenere Block along the Central African Rift in eastern Niger is in the works after the licensees settled differences.

A unit of China National Petroleum Co. will operate the block and carry the Niger unit of TG World Energy Corp., Calgary, for 20% of the 4-year work program. CNPC will pay TG World $1 million in back costs.

The new agreements are subject to government approval. The government had canceled TG World's rights to the block and awarded operatorship to CNPC (OGJ, Mar. 8, 2004, p. 38).

The work program calls for acquisition of 1,500 km of seismic surveys and drilling three exploration wells. Seismic work is to start in 2004.

The Tenere contract provides the option for two 3-year terms, each of which would include further exploration well commitments.

The contract area is contiguous to the Agadem contract area held by units of Esso and Petronas. It contains an extension of the rift basin in which Esso has made oil and gas discoveries in five pools in the Dinga Trough totaling a previously announced 350 million boe.

Agadem operator Petronas is drilling three wells in a program to discover more oil in order to reach the threshold required for an export development project.