Mauritania Operations and Licences

Operations

Tullow holds interests in eight blocks offshore Mauritania, the majority of which were acquired as part of the Hardman Resources takeover. These blocks cover nearly 47,000 sq km, extend along 750 km of coastline and include most of the prospective offshore basin area. Since 2000, over 30 exploration, appraisal and development wells have been drilled. Of the exploration wells, Chinguetti, Tiof, Tevet, Aigrette and Banda all resulted in significant oil and gas discoveries, while the Faucon and Pelican wells discovered gas (the latter with the possibility of a downdip oil leg). Exploration success to date is roughly 50% at the Miocene stratigraphic level and 25% at the Cretaceous.

The Tiof, Banda, Tevet and Labeidna discoveries are operated by Petronas while Pelican, Aigrette and Faucon are operated by Dana. These are currently being evaluated for development and/or appraisal.

Evaluation of the rest of the portfolio has led to the delineation of a number of additional prospects which could be tested in the near term.  Tullow has applied to take over the operatorship of Block 2. 

Chinguetti Field
The Chinguetti development project is operated by Petronas and located in 800 meters of water. The development involved a gross capital expenditure of over US$720 million and comprised twelve wells - seven production wells, five wells for water re-injection and one for gas re-injection. Production, which commenced in late February 2006, is via the Berge Helene FPSO, which is located 80km south-west of the capital Nouakchott. Plans for 2008 include the drilling of two further production wells within the field, and three well interventions to replace downhole equipment or shut off water producing zones. 

Tiof Field
The Tiof field was discovered by the Tiof-1 well in November 2003 and quickly appraised by Tiof-2 in December 2003. Tiof is an independent structural closure within a Miocene channel sandstone system, located approximately 25 km north of the Chinguetti oil field. The Tiof sand channel system is a separate feature but of similar age to the oil and gas reservoir sands at Chinguetti and Banda.

The aerial extent of the field, which at over 60 sq km is roughly five times the footprint of the Chinguetti oil field, required a further 4-well appraisal program, which was carried out in late 2004 - early 2005. Each of the appraisal wells encountered oil and confirms a substantial volume of oil in place.

During 2006 and 2007, conceptual planning for a phased development of the Tiof field using a tension leg platform (TLP) continued. Initial development is expected to cover the central area of the field, with subsequent potential tiebacks of the remaining areas to the platform. A joint venture decision to proceed with a more detailed design tender is scheduled for 2008.

Tevet
In September 2004 the Tevet-1 well was drilled within the Chinguetti EEA and made another significant oil discovery in similar sands. The Tevet Miocene discovery was again penetrated during September 2005 by the Tevet-2 appraisal well confirming the reservoir characteristics encountered in the discovery well. The 2004 well discovered an oil column of 44 meters below a minimum 68 meter gas leg. This field lies within tie-back distance to Chinguetti and development options for Tevet are being evaluated as part of a broader strategy for the optimal use of the Chinguetti production facilities and the development of other adjacent discoveries.

Banda
The Banda discovery well drilled in 2002 encountered a 110 meter gross gas column and a 10-20 meter gross oil column. Approximately 75% of the Banda structure is situated in PSC A and 25% in PSC B. The joint venture is continuing to evaluate the Banda gas field and potential gas markets, and a further well on the structure is planned in PSC B in the first half of 2008. Current volume estimates for Banda are 1.7 Tcf of gas (100% field). 

Pelican
In December 2003 the Pelican-1 exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 3,825 meters in approximately 1,700 meters water depth on a large anticlinal feature. Evaluation of the wireline logs and pressure data indicated that the well intersected a gross gas column of approximately 370 meters within which a number of gas-bearing sands are present.

Licences

Licence	Fields	Area Sq Km	Tullow Interest	Operator	Other Partners
Block 1		3,936	38.00%	Dana	GDF, Roc Oil
Block 2		4,898	83.78%	Tullow*	Dana, Roc Oil
PSC - Area A Block 3 Blocks 4 & 5 shallow	Banda	6,969	24.30%	Petronas	Premier, Kufpec, Roc Oil
PSC - Area B Blocks 4 & 5 deep	Tiof, Banda Tevet	8,028	21.60%	Petronas	Premier, Kufpec, Roc Oil
PSC - Area B Chinguetti EEA	Chinguetti	929	19.01%	Petronas	SMH, Premier, Kufpec, Roc Oil
Block 6		4,023	22.42%	Petronas	Roc Oil
Block 7		6,676	16.20%	Dana	Petronas, GDF, Roc Oil
Block 8		7,875	18.00%	Dana	GDF, Wintershall, Roc Oil

Note:* - Tullow has applied to take over the operatorship from Woodside.