Tunisia aims to increase natural gas production by 50 pct

TUNIS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Kamel Morjane, Tunisian acting head of government, announced on Friday that the Nawara natural gas field in southern Tunisia was put into operation.

According to data published by the government, the field will increase national gas production by 50 percent and reduce Tunisian gas imports by 30 percent.

"Nawara field will reach 50 percent of its production capacity during its start-up phase and 70 percent in November," the government said.

This project is the fruit of cooperation between the Tunisian National Oil Company and the Austrian Mineral Oil Administration.

According to the government, the total cost of the Nawara natural gas field is estimated at 1.105 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem