Total today announced that it has signed two exploration licenses with the Mauritanian government that gives it, as operator, a 90% interest in the following blocks:
The National oil company SMH will hold the remaining 10%.
The block C 9 is located approximately 140 kilometers offshore Western Mauritania, covering an area of more than 10,000 km², in water depths ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 metres. The Block Ta 29 is located in the Saharan desert, 1,000 kilometers east from Nouakchott and north of the Block Ta 7 in which Total is already conducting exploration activities. For both blocks, a seismic acquisition campaign is planned as the first phase of the exploration program.
“ With this ultra deep offshore award, we are entering into a high-potential, frontier play, known as the abrupt margin, in which major discoveries have been made recently, like in French Guyana ” said Marc Blaizot, Total’s Senior Vice President, Exploration . “ The license award is aligned with Total’s strategy of expanding its exploration operations into high-potential geological plays while leveraging the Group’s globally recognized ultra-deepwater expertise. The new onshore block is on the same trend as onshore Block Ta 7 on which latest exploration results show good prospectivity in this part of the Taoudeni basin. ”
Total in Mauritania
Present in exploration and production in Mauritania since 2005, Total, with its partners Sipex and Qatar Petroleum International is exploring Blocks Ta 7 and Ta 8 in the onshore Taoudeni basin, in the desert 800 kilometers east of Nouakchott.
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LNG World News Staff, January 6, 2011