Tunisia hands sole rights to the El Menzah oilfield to private operator Exxoil, ending 25-year standoff

Tunisia's oil ministry has made Exxoil the sole holder of the El Menzah concession near Grombalia, ending a quarter-century of limbo that began in 2001 when state firm ETAP judged the field's returns “very limited, even non-viable” and refused to invest while keeping a stake. Exxoil, which had covered all the costs alone and produced about 1.87 million barrels before the field stopped in 2007, filed for the regularisation in January 2024.

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