Parliamentary day focuses on two bills on benefits of hydrocarbon exploitation of Ashtart and Rahmoura

Tunis: Members of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) discussed two draft laws during a parliamentary day on Monday.The first concerns the approval of the agreement on the benefits of operating the Ashtart permit and the second concerns the Rahmoura oil field.These two bills are part of the process of reviewing the benefits that have expired and were approved at a ministerial meeting on May 17, 2022.The contract for the Ashtart field (Gulf of Gabès) was signed in October 2023 between the Tunisian State and the Tunisian Petroleum Activities Company (ETAP), acting as contractor, on the one hand, and the Tunisian oil and gas company PERENCO Tunisia, on the other, with each party holding 50%.The exploitation of Ashtart takes place within the framework of the hydrocarbon exploration permit in the Gulf of Gabes, granted by decision of the Minister of National Economy on June 30, 1973, valid for 50 years and expiring on December 31, 2023.Ashtart is a major oil field in Tunisia with current daily production of 4,700 barrels and estimated reserves of nearly 64 million barrels of oil.Continued production from the Ashtart field is economically significant with an estimated value of $175 million based on an oil price of approximately $60 per barrel, increasing to $213 million if the price of a barrel of oil reaches $70.The operating concessions relating to Rahmoura (Sfax) were granted by decision of the Minister of the National Economy on December 30, 1992 for a period of 30 years, expiring on January 14, 2023.The Rahmoura oil field contract was signed on December 11, 2023 between the Tunisian State on the one hand and ETAP (51%) and Panoro TBS Production Lmtd (49%) on the other.Daily production from the Rahmoura well is estimated at 380 barrels of oil. Total production from the well is expected to reach 7.4 million barrels of oil by the end of 2021, with an estimated 1.1 million barrels of oil in place.ETAP, in partnership with Panoro, has submitted an application to secure benefits for a 16-ye ar new operation.The meeting heard a report prepared by members of the ARP's Industry, Trade and Natural Resources Committee following a visit to the Ashtart and Rahmoura wells in April last year.The MPs highlighted the deplorable condition of the two wells and the lack of maintenance, as well as the dilapidated state of the machinery and a number of technical and financial problems.Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse