Rabat – British energy company Chariot Limited has announced securing a new exploration license covering the Loukos Onshore, which is located onshore Morocco.
The Africa-focused transitional energy company said in a statement on Tuesday that it had signed a partnership with Morocco’s National office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), a holder of 25% of the exploration license.
“Loukos covers an approximate area of 1,371 km2 and is adjacent to Chariot’s Lixus and Rissana offshore licenses, with the former containing the significant Anchois gas discovery and development project (“Anchois”),” Chariot said in the press release, adding that a detailed assessment has already kicked off based on existing modern 3 dimensions (3D) seismic data of 150 square kilometers.
The evaluation is identifying “overlooked shallow, conventional gas play,” which has already produced gas in other areas onshore Morocco.
The evaluation is also identifying low-risk gas prospects “supported by characteristic seismic attributes, with gas and reservoir proven by previously drilled wells which targeted different prospects,” the statement added.
The company, which is a holder of 75% interest in the new exploration, is determined that the exploration site has the potential to deliver early gas sales due to its proximity to a significant as well-supplied industrial gas market.
ONHYM General Director Amina Benkhadra stressed the importance of the partnership, saying that Chariot have a “substantial understanding and knowledge of this basin from their extensive exploration in the area.”
“We look forward to their ongoing work and progress with a view to accelerating the supply of gas to the Moroccan markets,” she added.
Duncan Wallace, a technical director at Chariot also expressed satisfaction with the partnership, describing the onshore license as a “natural fit with our existing acreage in Morocco.”
“Loukos has significant lead through from the prospectivity we see offshore, with a common geological setting extending from oru Lixus license and the onshore operating environment offering a significantly lower cost development and an attractively priced domestic industrial market ready to serve,” Wallace explained.
