Arco looks to invest in Algerian oil field despite political unrest.Atlantic Richfield Co. announced last week it had signed a preliminary agreement to invest $1 billion to expand one of the world's largest oil fields This list of oil fields includes major fields of the past and present. The list is incomplete; there are more than 40,000 oil and gas fields of all sizes in the world[1]. in Algeria, a country plagued with civil unrest Unrest is a sociological phenomenon, for instance:
Officials from Arco International Oil & Gas Co., a division of L.A.-based Arco, signed the preliminary agreement in Algiers with officials from Sonatrach, the state-owned oil company. The deal could double Arco's international oil reserves Oil reserves refer to portions of oil in place that are claimed to be recoverable under economic constraints. Oil in the ground is not a "reserve" unless it is claimed to be economically recoverable, since as the oil is extracted, the cost of recovery increases incrementally over the next 25 years, said Albert Greenstein, Arco spokesman. Arco has been trying to expand foreign reserves for several years, because there is scant scant adj. scant·er, scant·est 1. Barely sufficient: paid scant attention to the lecture. 2. Falling short of a specific measure: a scant cup of sugar. potential for further discovery and development within the U.S., he said. "It is a preliminary agreement," stressed Greenstein. Arco officials hope to have a final agreement in place by 1995 and begin extracting oil soon thereafter, he said. But, Greenstein added, the timing could be affected by political and civil unrest in Algeria. "There has been a great deal of violence in Algeria and (recently) some oil workers have been killed by terrorists," Greenstein said. "We are in a negotiating process right now and there is no intent to put a lot of Arco people on the ground (in Algeria) immediately," he said. "We would not put people into an area where their lives are at risk." Greenstein said the field is currently producing 25,000 barrels a day. "We think we can triple that through enhanced oil recovery Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a generic term for techniques for increasing the amount of oil that can be extracted from an oil field. Using EOR, 30-60 %, or more, of the reservoir's original oil can be extracted [1] compared with 20-40% [2] ," he said. Enhanced oil recovery involves injecting steam, water or gas into the ground to push oil out of pockets in the earth, Greenstein explained. The Algerian government is using traditional oil recovery methods which rely on underground pressure to push up the oil after the drill bit hits the oil pocket, he explained. The Rhourde El Baguel Oil Field is 450 miles southeast of Algiers and is believed to have contained 3 billion barrels of oil when it was discovered in 1962. By the end of 1993, about 430 million barrels of oil had been produced from the field, Greenstein said. "Three billion barrels is a super, giant oil field," said Michael Mayer, an analyst in the Burlingame, Calif., office of New York-based investment firm Wertheim Schroder & Co. "I would doubt if there are more than 20 oil fields in the world that are that big." Mayer said information available about the agreement is "sketchy." He said Arco officials told him the agreement entailed the oil giant making an initial cash payment of $300 million and then spending about $400 million on installing drilling equipment. Another $300 million investment would be made over the 25-year life of the project on installing and maintaining equipment, Greenstein said. Mayer said his understanding is that Arco will receive 49 percent of the oil recovered and the Algerian government 51 percent. Greenstein confirmed Arco would make a $300 million payment immediately after a final agreement and would get "up to 49 percent" of the oil produced. Arco officials expect to sell that crude oil on the international market rather than shipping it back to Arco refineries in the U.S., Greenstein added. "I hope they know what they are doing because it (Algeria) is an extremely dangerous Exteremely Dangerous is a 1999 four part series for ITV starring Sean Bean as an ex-MI5 undercover agent convicted of the brutal murder of his wife and child who goes on the run to try and clear his name. He sets out to follow up a strange clue sent to him in prison. place," said Bernard Picchi, an analyst with New York-based investment firm Kidder Peabody & Co. In February, the U.S. State A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and Department, in response to dozens of terrorist murders of foreigners Foreigners alienage the condition of being an alien. androlepsy Law. the seizure of foreign subjects to enforce a claim for justice or other right against their nation. gypsyologist, gipsyologist Rare. , warned Americans to "avoid" Algeria. The North African North Africa A region of northern Africa generally considered to include the modern-day countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. North African adj. & n. Adj. 1. country has been ruled by a five-man military junta Noun 1. military junta - a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power junta clique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, camp, pack - an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose since 1992. It promised to hold democratic elections in 1993, but failed to do so. |
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