Ain Tsila Gas Condensate Field, Algeria

Key Data

Ain Tsila is a gas condensate field located in the Illizi basin, Algeria. It is situated within the Isarene permit in Blocks 228 and 229a. etroceltic holds a !"."2!# working interest in the pro$ect, while %onatrach holds a 2!# share and &nel holds the remaining '8.()!# interest. etroceltic plans to sell '8.()!# of its stake in the pro$ect this *ear. The lan of +e,elopment of the Algerian offshore field was submitted in -anuar* 2.'2 and appro,ed in +ecember. The pro$ect was declared commercial in August 2.'2. The front end engineering and design /0&&+1 phase of the pro$ect is e2pected to start this *ear, while de,elopment acti,ities will commence in 2.'3. The field is e2pected to start initial gas production in 2.'). 4The gas condensate field was disco,ered in 2..9.4

Discovery, geology and reserves of the Algerian gas condensate field

The Ain Tsila field is estimated to hold reser,es of 2.' trillion cubic feet of sales gas, ") million barrels of condensate, and '.8 million barrels of li5uid petroleum gas /6 71.

The gas condensate field was disco,ered in 2..9, following the drilling of the Ain Tsila8 ' well. The well was the ninth8largest disco,er* worldwide that *ear. The field co,ers an area of o,er ',...km2. 9*drocarbons in the Illizi Basin are located within %ilurian shales found in :arboniferous and +e,onian and ;rdo,ician reser,oirs, with the largest ,olumes found in the ;rdo,ician reser,oirs. The Isarene concession, in which the gas condensate field is located, co,ers an area of around 2,!"3.8km2. It comprises three other prospects namel* Isarene <ord8&st, Isarene <ord8;uest and 9assi Tab Tab. The Amenas pro$ect is located east of the permit and the Tin 0ou*e Tabankort field is north of the permit.

Ain Tsila field development and infrastructure

4The field is e2pected to start initial gas production in 2.').4 The gas condensate field is e2pected to be de,eloped o,er a period of (. *ears, during which '23 wells will be drilled. The field will initiall* start production from '8 ,ertical wells. 7as will be produced ,ia a new gas8processing plant at an annual a,erage plateau rate of (!! million standard cubic feet per da*. The production is e2pected to remain stable for '3 *ears. The new gas8processing plant will incorporate water separation, condensate and 6 78 reco,er* e5uipment, gas compression, e2port pumps and metering facilities. The produced gas will be e2ported ,ia a '..km pipeline to the main Algerian gas transmission s*stem at the Tin 0ou*e Tabankort /T0T1 field. %onatrach will market gas products from the field. =p to si2 appraisal wells were drilled prior to the submission of the drafts for the +eclaration of :ommercialit* and lan of +e,elopment for the pro$ect. The ,ertical and horizontal wells were drilled using >:A8+eutag8<omad8class ?igs T82'', T82'2 and the 2,... hp +alma ?ig 6?8'2. AT83, AT8", AT88 and AT8) are ,ertical wells, while AT8!@ and AT89 are horizontal wells. The drilling works commenced in 2.'. and the testing of the si2 appraisal wells was carried out from -anuar* to +ecember 2.''. The drilling and testing works were carried out using data8dri,en (+ seismic techni5ues. The <omad8class drilling rigs are capable of drilling wells to '!,...ft or more. The* incorporate special health, safet* and en,ironment /9%&1 features such as pipe8handling e5uipment, a derrick anti8collision s*stem, iron roughneck, a man8riding winch,

dedicated e5uipment maintenance platforms, and special noise insulation in the generator packages.