Madagascar seeks to produce oil from bituminous rock deposits

ANTANANARIVO – Madagascar is seeking to produce oil from bituminous rock deposits in the south of the country to take advantage of record high oil prices, government officials said.

The Office of National Mines and Strategic Industries (OMNIS) is considering a project to exploit shale oil – oil obtained from bituminous shale rock deposits – in the Bemolanga and Tsimiroro areas of the massive Indian Ocean island. Madagascar, located off the southeast coast of Africa, is known to have oil and gas reserves, but these are inadequately mapped and there is as yet no major production.”With the current level of the price of a barrel of crude oil at US$50 (N$325) per barrel on the world market, and the great progress achieved in the techniques of exploiting oil from bituminous layers, the situation of oil exploration has completely changed,” General Andrianafidisoa, an official from OMNIS, told a news conference.”This is why we are looking very seriously at exploiting shale oil, even if we produce only 100 barrels a day to start, as before it was a problem due to the high cost of production and low profitability,” said Andrianafidisoa.”Even at US$40 per barrel, the exploitation of the oil shales of Bemolanga and Tsimiroro would be profitable,” he added.Madagascar estimates it has between one billion and three billion tonnes of bituminous sandstone layers that could be exploited in Bemolanga and Tsimiroro.The existence of smaller oil and gas reserves in Madagascar has been confirmed, but systematic mapping is still necessary before large-scale production can start.The Antananarivo government and OMNIS have been keen to attract foreign oil companies to explore the island.At present, several companies including Shell, Agip and CONOCON are involved in oil and gas exploration here, Madagascan officials say.-Nampa-ReutersMadagascar, located off the southeast coast of Africa, is known to have oil and gas reserves, but these are inadequately mapped and there is as yet no major production.”With the current level of the price of a barrel of crude oil at US$50 (N$325) per barrel on the world market, and the great progress achieved in the techniques of exploiting oil from bituminous layers, the situation of oil exploration has completely changed,” General Andrianafidisoa, an official from OMNIS, told a news conference.”This is why we are looking very seriously at exploiting shale oil, even if we produce only 100 barrels a day to start, as before it was a problem due to the high cost of production and low profitability,” said Andrianafidisoa.”Even at US$40 per barrel, the exploitation of the oil shales of Bemolanga and Tsimiroro would be profitable,” he added.Madagascar estimates it has between one billion and three billion tonnes of bituminous sandstone layers that could be exploited in Bemolanga and Tsimiroro.The existence of smaller oil and gas reserves in Madagascar has been confirmed, but systematic mapping is still necessary before large-scale production can start.The Antananarivo government and OMNIS have been keen to attract foreign oil companies to explore the island.At present, several companies including Shell, Agip and CONOCON are involved in oil and gas exploration here, Madagascan officials say.-Nampa-Reuters