Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières (ETAP) is a state-owned industrial and commercial company in Tunisia directly in charge of the petroleum sector as well as the state's partnerships with foreign exploration and production operators.
Overview
ETAP was created by law N°72-22 on 10 March 1972, to manage petroleum exploration and production activities on behalf of the Tunisian government. ETAP is primarily active in endeavors related to attracting international oil companies to provide financing for exploration projects, particularly in the country's smaller oil fields. To help achieve this objective, Tunisia introduced a new hydrocarbon law (Law 99/93) that includes incentives with favorable fiscal regulations and additional legal flexibility of licensing procedures and terms. The new law has been effective since August 20, 2000.[1] A provision for foreign corporations was a reduction in the tax rate from 75 to 50 percent, with ETAP taking a 40% share of the concession.
Activities
As of 2007, ETAP has granted a total of 44 exploration licenses to 42 international and domestic companies. Additionally, ETAP has been working in Syria with German-based Preussag to develop small oil fields and has signed an oil cooperation agreement with Iraq. In December 2004, the Syrian and Tunisian governments signed exploration agreements for areas in northeastern Syria.