Industry
The "Anchois" area is located off the city of Larache (map: Chariot Oil & Gas)
MOROCCO. Discovered off the coast of the city of Larache (90 km south of Tangier) in January 2022 by Chariot Oil & Gas, the new natural gas reservoir is said to be of excellent quality, as underlined in a press release published on Thursday 31 March 2022 by the British company. The methane gas would be present at more than 96% in the seven listed reservoirs, "without harmful impurities such as H2S (Editor's note: Hydrogen Sulphide) or CO2 (Editor's note: Carbon Dioxide)".
Present in the deposit named "Anchois" operated by the semi-submersible drilling platform Stena Don since December 2021, this well is attached to the Lixus exploitation permit (2,390 km² with water depths ranging from the coastline to 850 meters) held at 75% by Chariot Oil & Gas and 25% by the Office national des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM). It has been designated as Anchois-2.
According to the note, "estimates of net gas availability for the Anchois-2 well, based on further interpretation of the well data, have been upgraded to approximately 150m from the previously announced preliminary analysis of over 100m, compared to 55m in the original Anchois-1 discovery well."
Present in the deposit named "Anchois" operated by the semi-submersible drilling platform Stena Don since December 2021, this well is attached to the Lixus exploitation permit (2,390 km² with water depths ranging from the coastline to 850 meters) held at 75% by Chariot Oil & Gas and 25% by the Office national des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM). It has been designated as Anchois-2.
According to the note, "estimates of net gas availability for the Anchois-2 well, based on further interpretation of the well data, have been upgraded to approximately 150m from the previously announced preliminary analysis of over 100m, compared to 55m in the original Anchois-1 discovery well."
Gas available quickly
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The analysis also reveals that the gas extracted will require "minimal processing". According to Chariot, "the very consistent composition of the gas potentially allows all the gas produced from the different reservoirs to be processed in a single gas processing facility, allowing for simple development. This will therefore reduce capital expenditure for the African-focused company.
"We are delighted to announce this very positive update on the analysis of well data obtained from our successful gas drilling campaign for the Anchois project," comments Adonis Pouroulis. The interim CEO of Chariot Oil & Gas adds, "Our ambition is to bring the Anchois gas development online quickly, to fuel Morocco's economic growth, but also to provide short-term cash flow to our shareholders. We will continue to work on an accelerated field development plan for the benefit of all stakeholders."
Four months ago, the British company announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding on the sale of the gas with a "leading international energy group", without disclosing its identity. It provides for a daily delivery volume of nearly 20 million cubic metres of gas over 20 years. "The parties will progress discussions with a view to signing definitive agreements for the implementation of the Anchois gas development with a targeted final investment decision in 2022 and gas production in 2024," Chariot said at the time.
Today, according to ONHYM, forty-three offshore hydrocarbon exploration wells have been identified in Morocco over a total of 46,827 km² of 3D seismic interpretation and 158,825 km of 2D seismic. "Generally speaking, Morocco is still under-explored, with only 338 onshore and offshore drillings for the whole country. However, it is important to note that all the Moroccan sedimentary basins are characterized by the presence of functional and viable petroleum systems," the Office said.
"We are delighted to announce this very positive update on the analysis of well data obtained from our successful gas drilling campaign for the Anchois project," comments Adonis Pouroulis. The interim CEO of Chariot Oil & Gas adds, "Our ambition is to bring the Anchois gas development online quickly, to fuel Morocco's economic growth, but also to provide short-term cash flow to our shareholders. We will continue to work on an accelerated field development plan for the benefit of all stakeholders."
Four months ago, the British company announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding on the sale of the gas with a "leading international energy group", without disclosing its identity. It provides for a daily delivery volume of nearly 20 million cubic metres of gas over 20 years. "The parties will progress discussions with a view to signing definitive agreements for the implementation of the Anchois gas development with a targeted final investment decision in 2022 and gas production in 2024," Chariot said at the time.
Today, according to ONHYM, forty-three offshore hydrocarbon exploration wells have been identified in Morocco over a total of 46,827 km² of 3D seismic interpretation and 158,825 km of 2D seismic. "Generally speaking, Morocco is still under-explored, with only 338 onshore and offshore drillings for the whole country. However, it is important to note that all the Moroccan sedimentary basins are characterized by the presence of functional and viable petroleum systems," the Office said.
