Ocean Oilfield has secured a contract from Tende Energy to deploy its Ocean MVM jackup rig for a drilling campaign offshore Tunisia, targeting the Abiod well programme on the Maâmoura concession in the Gulf of Hammamet. The campaign is focused on a previously undeveloped fractured carbonate reservoir, marking an active step toward appraising and developing the asset.
The Maâmoura concession sits in the Gulf of Hammamet, a historically productive basin off Tunisia's eastern coast. Fractured carbonate reservoirs of the Abiod formation have been a recurring exploration target in the region, and the deployment of a dedicated jackup rig signals that Tende Energy is moving from evaluation into active drilling operations. The Ocean MVM is a jackup-class unit suited to the relatively shallow-water environment typical of the Gulf of Hammamet.
The contract represents a signed engagement between an operator and a drilling contractor, placing a physical asset on a specific well programme. For Tende Energy, a comparatively recent entrant into the Tunisian upstream space, the hire of the Ocean MVM signals commitment to progressing the Maâmoura asset toward production. Ocean Oilfield, the rig owner and contractor, will execute the campaign under the terms of the agreement.
Tunisia's upstream sector has seen selective but steady activity as independent operators pursue licences that larger international companies have historically passed over or relinquished. Fractured carbonate plays such as the Abiod require specialist drilling and completion techniques, and successful results at Maâmoura could attract follow-on investment in both appraisal and development infrastructure across the concession.