CAPITAL: Tunis

MONETARY UNIT: Dinar

REFINING CAPACITY: 34,000 b/d

OIL PRODUCTION: 81,000 b/d

OIL RESERVES: 307.6 million bbl

GAS RESERVES: 2.5 tcf

Tunisia in 1997 was producing about 81,000 b/d of crude and condensate and around 200 MMcfd of gas from 25 fields.

The main oil fields are El Borma in the south, Sidi el Kilani in the north, and Ashtart in the Gulf of Gabes. Miskar gas field yields about 160 MMcfd of processed gas and 4,000 b/d of natural gas liquids. El Borma field also produces small volumes of associated gas.

Around 40 companies were involved in exploring about the same number of concessions covering a combined 120,000 sq km.

ARCO in late 1997 acquired Elf Aquitaine`s 50% interest in Ashtart field, which was producing 19,000 b/d of 30° gravity oil. Tunisia`s ETAP holds the other 50%.

ARCO said that its share adds 25 million bbl to reserves and that enhanced oil recovery and exploration potential hold significant promise. Ashtart, in 225 ft of water, had produced 240 million bbl since 1971 from 800 million bbl in place.

British Gas gauged 21 MMcfd of gas and 1,988 b/d of condensate from Ypresian El Gueria nummulitic limestones at a second appraisal well at Hasdrubal gas/condensate field on the Amilcar Block, site of Miskar gas field. The well also had significant gas shows in Senonian Abiod chalky limestones.

Didon field, in 213 ft of water on the Zarat permit south of Ashtart and Miskar fields, was to start production in 1998. It is a 1976 discovery expected to produce 5-20 million bbl of 36° gravity oil. MP Zarat Ltd. of Tunisia operates the field.

CMS Nomeco Oil & Gas Co. planned to start up El Franig gas/condensate field in mid-1998 and appraise the shut-in Baguel oil discovery. The fields are in the Chotts basin southwest of Gabes.

MOL of Hungary planned to start up Sabria field. A horizontal redrill of the 1981 Amoco discovery flowed 1,700 b/d of oil and 3 MMcfd of gas from Ordovician El Hamra quartzites. MOL planned to drill four development wells and lay a 12 km pipeline to El Franig field.

Phillips, Union Texas, and Lasmo planned to drill a wildcat in 1999 on the 1.44 million acre Borj El Khadra Block. It is in the Ghadames basin east of Phillips/Union Texas`s Bordj Messouda Blocks 406B and 209 just to the west in Algeria.

Transportation

Pipelines were being laid in late 1997 to ship Sidi El Kilani field oil to the La Skhira export terminal (125 km, 8 in.), from El Franig to the El Borma pipeline (120 km, 10 in.), and from Cercina offshore oil field to a tank battery near Sfax.