PROPERTY ACQUISITION - TOP 20 / Petro-Canada Signs Tunisia Agreement
TUNISIA EXPLORATION AGREEMENT SIGNED BY PETRO-CANADA
CALGARY, April 3 /CNW/ - Petro-Canada has signed an agreement with the
Tunisian national oil company, ETAP, to jointly explore on a large and
relatively unexplored block of land in south-central Tunisia.
Petro-Canada and ETAP have acquired exclusive rights to conduct
geological and geophysical studies, as well as seismic reprocessing and
acquisition, on the Tataouine block, covering approximately 1.8 million acres
(720 000 hectares) in the Berkine (Ghadames) Basin. This basin is relatively
unexplored in Tunisia, but has provided a number of substantial oil
discoveries recently in adjacent areas of Algeria.
Petro-Canada has committed to spend $5 million in Tunisia in 1998 and
1999. Following the initial two-year term, Petro-Canada will have an option
to extend the agreement.
''The agreement with ETAP represents an excellent opportunity for
Petro-Canada to explore a large block of land, with potentially substantial
rewards,'' said Norm McIntyre, Petro-Canada executive vice-president.
''Pursuit of this opportunity is consistent with our strategy to expand our
international presence and build on our nearby Algerian exploration success.''
Petro-Canada's exploration program in Algeria has yielded several
discoveries on its 2 million acre Tinrhert block. The Company is producing
oil from its Tamadanet field, evaluating recent gas and condensate
discoveries, and conducting further exploratory drilling.
A map showing the location of the Tataouine block is available from the
contacts below.
Petro-Canada is one of Canada's largest oil and gas companies, operating
in both the upstream and the downstream sectors of the industry. Its common
and variable voting shares trade on Canadian exchanges under the symbol PCA,
and its variable voting shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol PCZ. |
