Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) (37.75%) , Sonatrach (51%)
and Cepsa (11.25%) today announce that the Algerian National Oil
and Gas Development Agency (ALNAFT) has approved the development
plan for the Timimoun natural gas project, located between Timimoun
and Adrar in southwestern Algeria.
This project milestone is the outcome of an exploration and
appraisal program begun in 2003, during which six wells were
drilled.
Development work should begin in the fourth quarter of the year,
with first gas scheduled for 2013. Timimoun is expected to
commercially produce around 1.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas
per year (160 millions cubic feet per day) at plateau.
Total, Sonatrach and Cepsa will jointly operate the Timimoun
project. The development plan entails drilling around 40 wells to
tap eight structures over an area of 2,500 square kilometres. It
also includes the construction of gas gathering and processing
facilities, as well as a connection to the pipeline that Sonatrach
has been called to develop to carry gas from fields in southwestern
Algeria to Hassi R'Mel.
Under the marketing agreement, Sonatrach will market all the gas
produced.
The Timimoun development project consolidates the long-standing
cooperation between Total and Sonatrach in the upstream.
Total Exploration & Production in Algeria
Total's production in Algeria averaged 79,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day in 2008. This production comes from direct
interests in the Hamra and Tin Fouyé Tabenkort gas fields and
through the Group's stake in 48.83%-owned CEPSA, which is partnered
with Sonatrach on the Ourhoud and Rhourde El Krouf fields.
In Algeria, as in all host countries, Total is engaged in a
number of community development and environmental programs, in
particular in the areas of education, health care and heritage
preservation. In addition, specific initiatives will be deployed in
the Timimoun region, in cooperation with Sonatrach.
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