North Africa Oil and Gas Summit set

In the build-up to the North Africa Oil and Gas Summit 2013, Jean-Daniel Blasco, Vice President Exploration & Production North Africa from TOTAL, discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by the company in the region, and said "Africa represents one-third of TOTAL's production, whereas North Africa represents only four per cent. Our growth in the area will depend on the successes of our exploration, and our exploration expenses in the years 2013 and 2014 are quite significant. We are also interested in business opportunities that might arise in the area."

Blasco will participate at the eighth annual North Africa Oil and Gas Summit to be held on Oct. 22 - 24 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is also confirmed to speak at the North Africa Unconventionals Seminar about the challenges posed by the unpredictable environment in the region and its effects on sustainable exploration efforts.

Blasco said national oil companies (NOCs) and IOCs face the same challenges of finding new reserves, developing new fields etc., in an environment that is increasingly difficult to operate in. This is primarily due to technology, increasing costs, scarcity of skilled manpower, and acceptability by local communities. With increased risks, NOCs and IOCs have more common interests than conflicting ones. Furthermore, NOCs and IOCs need from the host countries clear, appropriate and stable conditions to undertake their respective roles.

Security of assets and people are key to project success in the region. With many more companies investing in the region, strategies will have to be redefined going forward. Most existing energy companies, including TOTAL, are already taking steps to protect themselves by securing their sites and facilities.

Talking about TOTAL's plans to increase their portfolio Blasco further added: "In addition, margin sharing between the host country and the company is certainly an important parameter for attractiveness, but it is not the only one. Hydrocarbons potential and security rank first, followed by other parameters which are important to attract investors - one such is their relationship with administrations."

Already present in countries that include Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, Blasco does not believe that the return on investment among North African countries is comparable because of their different situations, namely, production and technical costs, reserves as and hydrocarbon history.
TOTAL, is one of the companies behind the development of cutting-edge deep-offshore technology, and is also the largest oil major operating on the continent with huge discoveries to its name.NIKE