Chariot Secures New Moroccan Acreage, Exits Mauritania
UK-based Atlantic margins explorer Chariot Oil & Gas has taken on more acreage offshore Morocco but is allowing a Mauritanian licence, which it held with Cairn Energy, to expire.
Chariot said June 16 it has been awarded a 75% interest and operatorship of the Mohammedia Offshore Exploration Permits I - III ("Mohammedia") in Morocco; state-owned Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) will hold a 25% carried interest.
The Mohammedia permits sit in the nearshore, covering some 4,600km2 with water depths less than 500m. The company is targeting oil – with gross mean prospective resources for individual prospects there ranging from 50mn bbls to 289mn bbls, as audited by Netherland Sewell and Associates – but acknowledges that most of this area currently has little seismic coverage. It expects to conduct 2D and 3D seismic programmes during 2017.
The new acreage is adjacent to the 10,780 km2 Rabat Deep Offshore permits in which Chariot retains a 10% interest and where Eni farmed in as 40% operator earlier this year. Chariot CEO Larry Bottomley said again June 16 he expects a well to be drilled on Rabat Deep Offshore in 2017.
Further south, offshore Mauritania, Chariot also announced June 16 that it has elected not to enter into the First Renewal Phase of the C-19 licence which it operates. “Whilst Chariot considers the acreage to be prospective, this decision was made in line with the company's strategy and focus on portfolio management and capital discipline,” it said. The UK’s Cairn Energy was also a partner, with a 35% interest, in C19. It’s expected to mark the exit of both companies from Mauritania.
Mark Smedley