tiof posts another strike for mauritanian partners

Tiof posts another strike for Mauritanian partners

Hayden Lilienthal


Tuesday, November 11, 2003
The Australian-led Mauritanian exploration initiative is continuing to pay dividends for the project partners with another deepwater oil discovery off the coast of the impoverished country.


Located in PSC Area B the Chinguetti 4-6 (Tiof) exploration well was spudded on 28 October 2003. Since then preliminary wireline log results and reservoir pressure measurements have indicated that the well has intersected a gross gas column of 48m and a minimum gross oil column of 38m.

"The early indications of both oil and gas are encouraging but further data is needed before we will know the true thickness of the oil column. At this early stage we consider that a new, oil bearing Miocene channel system has been discovered to the north of the Chinguetti-Banda fairway. We hope to be able to provide further details on the hydrocarbon shows within the next few days," said Hardman's managing director, Ted Ellyard.

Operator Woodside reported that there is a possibility that the oil column may be greater in the well but further reservoir sampling and pressure measurements are required to determine the full extent of the hydrocarbon column.

The well is located 25km north of the Chinguetti Oil Field, 90km west of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, at a water depth of 1,080m and is designed to test an independent structural closure within a Miocene channel sandstone system.

Tiof follows the success of the Chinguetti 4-5 well which intercepted a gross oil column of around 100m, of which about 38m are net oil-bearing sandstones.

Wireline logging, at a total depth of 2,605m confirmed the pre-drill expectation for this well in terms of the thickness, quality and hydrocarbon content of the reservoir.

Surprisingly trading in the Australian venture partners has been lax this morning although Hardman enjoyed a brief surge to 75 cents late yesterday on announcement of the strike before settling back 5 cents higher at 71 cents. Roc oil has been fairly steady while Energy giant Woodside has firmed 12 cents to reach $13.71.

Market watchers say a lot of retail investors have become disenfranchised with the Mauritanian play, citing a lack of background information and erratic and sometimes conflicting stock exchange announcements.

Participants in the Tiof well and PSC Area B are Woodside Mauritania (operator) 35%, AGIP Mauritania BV 35%, Hardman Resources 21.6%, Fusion Mauritania B 6% and Roc Oil (Mauritania) 2.4%.