Eni Starts Morocco Deepwater Drilling
Eni has begun drilling the Rabat Deep 1 Well offshore Morocco with the ultra-deepwater, sixth-generation drillship Saipem 12000, its junior UK partner on the licence Chariot Oil & Gas said March 14.
Drilling the well is expected to take about 50 days. Chariot said that further announcements will be made as appropriate.
The Rabat Deep permits in Morocco are operated by Eni with a 40% interest. Other partners are Australia's Woodside (25%), Moroccan state upstream company ONHYM (25%) and Chariot (10%).
Moroccan authorities approved Eni’s farm-in to the Rabat Deep permits in January 2017, nine months after Chariot reached agreement in late March 2016 to divest a 40% stake to Eni. The overall 10,780 km2 permits area extends over water depths from 150 metres to 3,500 metres. Chariot had announced late February that the Saipem 12000 had been mobilised to work on the well.
Eni announced late 2017 that it had further expanded its acreage position offshore Morocco. In 2016 Eni said it hoped to find liquids at Rabat Deep. However both gas and liquids have recently been found offshore northwest Africa, with Moroccan waters to date thinly explored.