Hasdrubal

Hasdrubal Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Hasdrubal Oil and Gas Field is located approximately 100 kilometers offshore Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabes. It is situated within the 1,584 square kilometer Amilcar exploration permit at a water depth of about 62 meters (or 203 feet).

Discovery and Development

• The field was initially discovered by Elf (Sofratep) in 1975 but was declared non-commercial at that time.
• BG Group (now part of Shell) drilled three appraisal wells between 1994 and 1998, which confirmed the commercial viability of the field. The wells included Hasdrubal-2, Hasdrubal-3, and Hasdrubal-4, with the latter two providing significant flow rates.

Ownership and Operation

• The field is operated by Amilcar Petroleum Operations, although historically it was operated by BG Group.
• The ownership is shared between Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières (ETAP) and Shell plc. Initially, BG Group held a 50% interest, with ETAP holding the remaining 50%.

Production

• The field began production in March 2009.
• Production is carried out through three wells drilled from a normally unmanned platform called Hasdrubal A.
• The combined production from the Hasdrubal and Miskar fields, also located in the Amilcar permit, is around 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).

Infrastructure

• The Hasdrubal A platform is supported by a 1,000-ton, 70-meter long jacket and weighs 2,450 tons. The topsides of the platform measure 46 x 30 x 29 meters and weigh 1,450 tons, with five decks.
• Produced oil and condensate are exported through a 110-kilometer, 18-inch diameter multiphase export pipeline to the Hasdrubal onshore processing plant located near Sfax in Tunisia. This plant includes facilities for gas processing, mercury removal, gas dehydration, and condensate processing.
• Processed gas is distributed to the domestic market through the Tunisian gas grid. Oil and condensate are transported to the La Skhira Terminal through a 67-kilometer pipeline and exported to the international market.

Processing and Export

• The Hasdrubal plant processes the produced hydrocarbons to separate gas, oil, condensate, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
• A dedicated LPG storage terminal has been built at Gabes, where butane and propane are stored and sold in the domestic market.

Contracts and Contractors

• Petrofac was awarded the front-end engineering and design contract, as well as the construction contract for the onshore gas plant.
• Heerema Fabrication Group was responsible for the construction of the Hasdrubal A platform.
• Saipem handled the manufacture, installation, and pre-commissioning of the 110-kilometer offshore pipeline system. Subsea Protection Systems was subcontracted by Saipem for concrete mattresses and dropped object protection covers.

Reserves and Production Outlook

• The field has significant reserves, with 25 million barrels of condensate and 7,362.31 million cubic meters of gas as of 2001 estimates.
• As of the latest data, the field has recovered about 88.44% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production achieved in 2013. Production is expected to continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2032, contributing approximately 8% of Tunisia’s daily gas output.

Financial and Development Support

• The African Development Bank Group provided a $150 million loan for the development of the field.