Circle Prepares for Tunisian Spud

Circle Oil is preparing to drill in Tunisia on its Grombalia Permit. The company said that it received written confirmation of the six-month extension for the fourth validity period of the permit to December 18, 2012 from the Direction Générale de l'Energie on June 22.

Preparations are now underway to drill exploration well Bou Argoub-1 (BAB-1) in the South West Belli area of the Grombalia Permit, near to the Belli, El Manzah and Beni Khaled fields. It is expected that the drilling of this well will commence early in the second half of 2012.

The BAB-1 well will have an expected TD of 4,429 ft and is targeting a fault-bounded structural culmination crossing two vertically stacked fractured carbonate reservoirs, the Eocene Bou Dabbous Formation and the Late Cretaceous Abiod Formation. These are the main oil-producing formations in the northeastern part of Tunisia.

The Grombalia Permit covers an area of 1,078 square miles (2,792 sq km). The partners include Exxoil Tunisie Ltd (65% working interest and operator) and Circle (35% working interest).

"We are very pleased that preparations are now underway for the drilling of our exploration well in the Grombalia Permit. This type of fault-bounded structure has proven historically to be successful for drilling," CEO Prof Chris Green said.