Algeria, an OPEC member, has initiated an extensive seismic survey spanning an area of nearly 500,000 square kilometres as part of its efforts to advance the development of the Hassi Messaoud oilfield.
The state-owned Sonatrach, one of the world’s largest oil firms, is conducting a high-resolution, high-intensity survey at the field and surrounding areas in East Algeria, the Algerian Arabic language daily Elkhabar said on Wednesday.
The paper quoted Sonatrach’s Director General Tawfiq Hakkar, who visited the field on Tuesday, as saying the operation is designed to “maximise the field’s production and crude oil reserves” and to maintain Sonatrach’s position as an important player in the global energy markets.
Sonatrach said in a statement that the survey covers nearly 2,000 oil wells in the field, besides huge areas housing industrial and housing facilities.
It said this project constitutes “a challenge to Sonatrach to complete the survey using the latest modern technologies that ensure accurate knowledge of all these data.”
According to Algerian assessments, the Hassi Messaoud oilfield, which was uncovered in 1956, yields approximately 350,000 barrels per day and holds an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves.
