Tunisia: Nawara field officially enters production phase

Head of caretaker government Youssef Chahed announced, on Wednesday, that the Nawara natural gas field, southern Tataouine Governorate, has entered the production phase.

“The field represents the largest project in Tunisia, with an investment value of 3.5 billion Tunisian dinars ($1.24 billion),” Chahed said in a Facebook post.

He stated that the production capacity of the field is estimated at 2.7 million cubic meters of gas per day, which represents an additional 50 per cent to the national production of gas.

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The Tunisian Company of Petroleum Activities (ETAP) owns the field, in partnership with the Austrian OMV Group.

According to Chahed, the field will contribute with 7000 barrels of oil and 3200 barrels of liquid gas, noting: “It will also reduce the energy deficit by 20 per cent and the trade deficit by 7 per cent.”

The Tunisian economy is facing economic and financial challenges, the most prominent of which is the increase of the value of the trade balance deficit by 2 per cent in 2019, i.e. $ 6.85 billion.

According to official figures, the value of the energy deficit in Tunisia reached 52 per cent in 2018, compared to 49 per cent in 2017.