Annex 8

Société Nationale d’Operations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire (PETROCI), Deepwater Opportunities in Côte d’Ivoire (May 2005)

y

The government of Cote d' lvoire is offering promising exploration concessions in deepwater offshore as well as in shallow waters and onshore.

The development of the Baobab field in block CI-40 is a fact. The design features subsea completion with an FPSO. Thus, Cote d 'Ivoire is embarking upon a new exploration and production era of great promise.

Cote d'Ivoire strives to maintain an attractive investment climate.

Companies investing in exploration can expect a reasonable return from any discovery. The hydrocarbon code is clearly documented and available for review. A brief summary of the geology of the sedimentary basin, along with a light review of exploration and production data, is highlighted in this brochure. More detailed information may be obtained through Petroci.

Concessions Offered

Fourteen (14) offshore and onshore exploration concessions are currently being offered to the international petroleum industry. They include:

• Five (5) deepwater blocks: CI-100, CI-101 , CI-103, CI-109 and CI-401, most of them close to producing fields;

• Five (5) offshore blocks in shallow water: CI-12, CI-102, CI-104, CI-11 0 and CI-111, in which attractive prospects have been mapped;

• Four(4) onshore blocks: CI-300, CI-301, CI-302 and CI-303, which display prospects of varying types.

The shallow water offshore area has long been a proven hydrocarbon province with fields such as Espoir, Foxtrot, Lion, etc. Now, with the onset of production in block CI-40, the Baobab Field, large reserves of oil and gas are known to be present in the deepwater area.

2

I

~ I t ""'-;

~ er:: kl I:Q

""'-;

' II . I ~

+

+

GULF Of GUINEA

Petroleum Exploration Concessions

+

ABOISSO • ADIAKE •

CI-303

Overview of the Geology of the Cote d'lvoire Sedimentary Basin

The Cote d' lvoire sedimentary basin is one of the WestAfrican bas ins formed by the break-up of the continents and the spreading of South Atlantic Ocean during the Lower Cretaceous.

The bas in comprises a trough measuring some 600 km (E-W) by 150 km (N-S). Its eastern part, which is the most explored area, is called the "Abidjan Margin" and its western part is known as the "San Pedro Margin" .

The bas in developed as part of the transform margin between the Saint Paul and the Romanche fracture zones, while Afri ca separated from South America. The movement and the associated sedimentation are separated into three distincti ve stages referred to as pre-rift and post-rift. These tectonic stages have strong ly influenced the type of sediments and the deformational hi story of the bas in.

The basin presents interesting sections including the prospective Cretaceous (Albian- Maastrichian) interval:

• The Albian sequence: the oldest sediments reached by drilling are dated Midd le A lbian. However, the Albian sequence has not bee n complete ly penetrated, but it is thought to have been laid down on an Upper Aptian sequence. It is heterogeneous and composed of black shales interlayered with silty or sandy sediments. The Albian source rocks have produced significant amounts of hydrocarbons. The reservoir rocks comprise a series of major sandy intervals interbedded by sha ly sequences. The reservo ir rock characteristics are good.

• The Cenomanian sequence: this sequence is deposited over the eroded surface of the Albian rift series. It consists of sha le with fine-gra ined sandstone interbeds. Channel systems inc luding coarser-grained sandstone are likely to be present in deeper offshore areas. Platform carbonates are present mainly in the lower section of the Cenomanian. The Cenomanian sediments generally contain fair to good source rocks. The reservoir characteristics are also good. The petroleum potentia l is fair to good.

• The Senonian sequence: this sequence is composed of clastic material from the top of the slopes and accumulated in the depocenters. The lower section genera lly comprises c lastic sediments conta ining a few streaks of limy shale. The North-South orientation of cong lomeratic, coarse-grained sandstones, which change progress ive ly upward into finer­gra ined sands, constitute good reservoirs. The conglomerates change progress ive ly upward into fin er-grained sands ans constitute good reservoirs.

• The Maastrichtian sequence: thi s sequence represents the youngest interva l with hydrocarbon potential. It is composed mainly of shales with occas ionally fine to medium coarse-grained sandstones, which constitute good-quality reservoirs in the eastern prat of the "Abidjan margin". All of the elements necessary to create a favorable hydrocarbon system are present: mature source rocks, high quality reservoir rocks, and both structural and stratigraphic trapping mechanisms.

4

I

II') HWD R 0 CARBON g ~ POTmlTh\1.

6 1:1 115 HE ClONAL STRA.TIGRAPHY DESCRIPTION = Ia BASIN HSTORY li: Q

~ ~ !3 ~ ~ ~

lA = .... ....

EOCEI'.E

PAL EOCENE

Lower Sh:allcw Mlrine Sands

SE:NONIA N S ut:m•:uine

c.-. nel Sands +Turbi:t ites

8 +

~ TURONIAN

< 1\farim: Siim d:;: '""' CENOMA NIA N

B L<ICUstri'leA\.Ituinll! !Rl<l

TurbiditE SandS1Dn e s

ALBIAN L.iicu:itrine - Coil~iiil

Shal y SandstDnl! s: ( F'oxt rot F'ac:ies)

APTIAN

JlJJlAS:IIC

'DW.SSJ£

PJ!RMO CARll UN-lll!ROUS

II PRE AFT

8A SBtENT

Cote d'lvoire Stratigraphic Column

5

I ____________ L ______ __

Block Cl-1 02 : Seismic cross section showing inter-relationship of unconformities, faults and sand/shale sediment packages providing multiple opportunities for hydrocarbon traps.

Block Cl-1 01 : Seismic cross section showing structurally and unconformably bound sediment packages with significant updip pinch-outs of Upper Cretaceous turbidites.

6

I

Exploration Activities

At present more than 50,000 line km of 2D and 12,000 km2 of 3D seismic data have been acquired, and more than 178 wells, for exploration and development, have been drilled in Cote d'Ivoire sedimentary basin, leading to a cumulative production of 90 million barrels of oil and 400 billion cubic feet of gas. All these data as well as related data (seismic tapes, drilling cores, well test reports, etc .. . ) are available and most of them may be reviewed by interested oil companies.

Correlation of offshore wells from West to East Cote d'lvoire

Overview of Incentives of the Petroleum Legislation

A legal framework for Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) is designed to encourage investments in hydrocarbons exploration and production activities in Cote d'Ivoire. Companies investing in these activities may take advantage of incentives such as:

• Exploration period: the exploration period may last as long as 9 years for Deepwater activities;

• Cost recovery: this important factor is negotiable up to 70 percent for deep offshore operations;

• Stepwise approach: a study agreement step may precede PSC execution;

• Reduction of income tax rate.

I I

7