Indonesian oil and gas firm MedcoEnergi has agreed to purchase a subsidiary of Toronto-based Chinook Energy Inc for more than US$114mn, which would lead the company to develop oil and gas blocks in Tunisia
The deal is subject to approval from partners in the blocks and government officials. If the deal was to materialise, MedcoEnergi would obtain participating interests in eight oil and gas work areas in Tunisia. The company previously held stakes in Tunisia's Durra concession and Anguid exploration area, but sold them in 2011.
Lukman Mahfoedz, CEO of MedcoEnergi, said, "We have recently met with the government of Tunisia and they have shown support in welcoming us back to Tunisia to pursue oil and gas exploration and production opportunities."
The company anticipates adding proven and probable reserves of 12.3mn barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD) and gas production by up to 2,800 BOEPD. Output is projected to be 16,000 BOEPD in 2018.
Of the eight work areas, two are currently being developed, four are exploration areas and two are in production. Five of the blocks – Adam, Sud Remada, Bir Ben Tartar, Jenein and Borj El Khadra, are onshore in the Ghadames Basin, where MedcoEnergi has a participating interest in Libya Area 47. Three of the blocks are offshore – Cosmos, Hammamet and Yasmin in the Pelagian Basin.
MedcoEnergi said that recent political changes in Libya had delayed its US$900mn Area 47 project by two years, to 2016.
