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Fez – Gas exploration company Chariot Oil & Gas will begin an appraisal drilling in the coming days at the Anchois 1 well off Larache’s shore in northern Morocco.
On Monday December 13, offshore drilling rig Stena Don was seen arriving in Morocco’s waters by Vesselfinder, which tracks maritime traffic in real-time. In September, Chariot signed an arrangement with Stena Drilling to use its rig for the Anchois gas appraisal well in the Lixus license project off Morocco’s coast.
An “appraisal well” is a well drilled to determine the location’s amount of extractable gas. If the well produces encouraging results it becomes a “production well,” if not, it is abandoned.
The appraisal operation of Chariot is expected to take 40 days. It will have to validate the magnitude of gas resources, which are believed to be around 28 billion cubic meters (m3). The drilling operation will also assess the quality of the reservoir and well productivity, and expand the search to further probably extractable and marketable natural gas discoveries.
In October, Chariot signed a memorandum of understanding on the sale of gas with a “leading international energy group.” The company did not reveal the buyer but announced that it will benefit from 20 years of gas delivery.
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Morocco has recently expanded the number of gas exploration contracts. Israel’s Ratio Petroleum had entered into a research agreement with Morocco’s National Office of Mines and Hydrocarbons (ONHYM) in September, according to Israeli news outlet Energia News.
Europa Oil & Gas stated in August that it would drill for oil in Agadir. The exploration permission was granted by Morocco, with the company owning 75% of the region’s holdings and Morocco’s hydrocarbons office owning the other 25%.
Morocco is also home to companies like Predator Oil & Gas and SDX Energy. Moroccan and international firms invested MAD 1.44 billion ($155.7 million) in oil and gas exploration in various locations across the country in 2018, covering an area of 127,000 square kilometers.
