Gulfsands plans Tunisia development

Gulfsands Petroleum is planning to get more work done at its offshore and onshore blocks in Tunisia following an investment in two exploration permits there according to a released statement. The statement came on the heels of an announcement of the company’s new opportunities in the country.  Gulfsands in a recent announcement said that it had obtained an agreement with the Tunisian authorities for the acquisition of a permit for its block located at Chorbane and Kerkouane. The acquisition, part of a $1.1 million deal with ADX Energy Ltd., includes contiguous reserves offshore Italy. In a released statement about the company’s new developments in Tunisia, Chief Executive Officer Ric Malcolm said they are pleased to have the opportunity to widen their participation and increase their interests with the acquired permits and to assume operatorship of the Chorbane joint venture.
The company’s interest in the region and continent as a whole is growing. It has decided to enter into a strategic alliance with Canadian oil company Rift Basin Resources to pursue more opportunities in Tunisia and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa region. “We are planning for a significant increase in exploration activity during 2013 in order to advance preparations for the drilling of exploration wells on both the onshore and offshore permits during early 2014,” Malcolm said. Gulfsands Petroleum didn’t however release figures concerning the potential reserves of its acquisitions in Tunisia although the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration reported last year that Tunisia produced around 67,000 barrels of oil per day. The company has seen its operations being affected in the Middle East last year due to the civil war in Syria which is still going on and shows no sign of coming to an end anytime soon.