TotalFinaElf (24%) and its partners (Repsol operator, OMV and Saga) today announced a second oil discovery on Block NC 186 in Libya. The block covers an area of 4,300 square kilometers and is located in the Murzuk Basin, approximately 800 kilometers south of Tripoli.

B-1 is the second positive exploration well drilled on Block NC 186, following last autumn’s discovery well A-1.

The new discovery well indicated a significant oil column in the upper Ordovician sandstone of the Mamouniyat formation. Production tests showed a daily flow rate of 1,300 barrels of good quality oil (API 40°) using a 16/64-inch choke and an electrical pump.

B-1 is located in the southern part of Block NC 186, approximately 30 kilometers east of the first discovery well A-1 and 40 kilometers from the El Sharara field production facilities in Block NC 115 (TotalFinaElf 30%). Commissioned in December 1996, these facilities have sufficient capacity to process and export additional oil production.

This latest discovery confirms the potential of Block NC 186. Exploration began on the block in May 1998 and will continue in 2001 with the drilling of three additional exploration wells and four appraisal wells, in order to more accurately appraise the A-1 and B-1 discoveries.